Personal Development & Ethics - Essay Example

 Personal development and ethics Introduction As a new business owner, there are many different skills required in order to be successful and maintain competitive advantage over businesses that provide similar products or services in the same market environment. From understanding how to conduct internal and external research analyses to basic knowledge about human behaviour, starting a new business means positioning the company for greatness by applying learned knowledge. This report identifies the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to be successful in a new business, the advantages and disadvantages of self-employment, and the ethical responsibilities of an engineering professional. The business offering There is a great deal of growth in the market for consulting services, especially in the current unstable global economy that has many businesses seeking outsourced business support to save on costs. This provides an excellent opportunity to launch a consulting company that offers auditing services and generic management assistance. This service-based business can be set-up with an online presence, since there is much global growth in the use of commercial and personal Internet use. There are literally billions of global citizens and professionals with access to the Web, leading to growth in international networks that allow for better business promotion (Aziz & Yasin, 2004). A consulting service business can take advantage of these trends to create a competitive business with a great deal of market presence. This consulting business would be service-oriented, providing online support as well as face-to-face business services with a wide range of support options. It can rely on personal engineering skills to help streamline production or operational aspects of the business or use internal talent (recruited through interviewing) to delegate support such as auditing or management planning and strategy. Essential KSA’s A consulting business of this nature would require recruitment of professionals with expertise in areas of auditing and management coordination, requiring the business owner to have skills in human resources. Once the employees needed to support the new consulting business have been recruited, knowledge in how to conduct training would be essential. It is important to be concerned about issues of employee turnover, as a means of cost-savings, and also to provide a rewarding organisational environment that makes employees want to remain with the company. “Training that offers employees benefits which are perceived as non-transferable to another organisation make it too costly to leave” (Bambacas & Bordia, 2009, p.225). The first essential piece of knowledge needed is to understand what drives employee needs and then attempt to mould the organisational culture and climate to fit these needs and then incorporate these elements into training packages. The goal is to make training appear innovative and interesting so that employees will be more committed and loyal to meeting organisational goals. There is also a need to understand external markets, in this case customers, in order to provide service offerings that are relevant to today’s businesses or customers seeking consulting advice. This requires an essential piece of knowledge to include understanding how to conduct ongoing environmental analyses in order to understand what drives market preferences and conditions. The models most suited for these tasks include the SWOT analysis and the PEST analysis diagrams, allowing individuals to understand the forces that drive business planning so that internal changes to the business model can be made. A PEST analysis uncovers the political, economic, social and technological forces that might impact business, whilst the SWOT analysis uncovers the internal capacity issues that drive decision-making at the company. The use of customer surveys, employee feedback systems, or any other auditing tool can help make positive business changes. Business and industry knowledge are vital for starting a small business (Ward, 2010). As the business leader, having a human resources focus is very necessary to ensure that employees remain committed to meeting organisational goals. Knowledge about what drives people to be motivated, based on their psychological needs, is an important element to having a rewarding business model that is profitable. There must be ongoing analyses conducted about internal job design so that employees are satisfied and productive. “Motivation determines how much energy employees will expend, as well as what tasks will be accomplished” (Maxwell, 2008, p.432). This means that having knowledge of motivational theories will be an essential skill in order to ensure organisational commitment. Employees need to have a self-motivated leader that will provide inspiration, vision, coaching and development in order to make them stay with the new consulting business. Another essential skill for this business will be in areas of marketing so that the business can differentiate itself from others in this same industry. The company will need to figure out some type of promotional strategy so that it has more visibility and can reach more customers. This requires knowledge in areas of advertising or use of online promotional tools (such as banner ads) and knowing which environments to place these ads to guarantee a higher customer response. Having a solid product, with an acceptable price that is considered competitive in the industry, and a strong promotional package are vital skills as a business owner. Having a strong leadership model is also a vital skill for the new consulting business. “The most successful entrepreneurs are those who can give up control and delegate to others” (Garger, 2010, p.2). This means that the business owner must have strong knowledge of management theory, such as planning and setting up certain control systems. A successful person understands when to give people autonomy and when to retain certain business functions for ownership. Delegating can only be successful, however, after the business owner has well-trained and knowledgeable staff members that understand their job roles and know how to effectively communicate with customers. Managers cannot take all responsibilities on themselves if they hope to be successful. Tarricone & Luca (2002) offers that in order to work in any kind of team environment, it is necessary to have skills such as collaboration, interpersonal skills, social skills, problem-solving and time management. A consulting firm will rely on a team of professionals that can work together successfully and promote professionalism with clients in order to meet their deadlines or expectations for excellence in service provision. The method by which the business owner communicates with customers must be dynamic and inspirational in order to guarantee commitment. It would be difficult to achieve service excellence without effective team-working efforts and knowledge. Essential knowledge for this new business also means understand the different characteristics of certain employee groups. For example, younger workforce members tend not to stay in one job for very long and demand much more from employers than older workers, such as training opportunities, leadership roles, and opportunities for career advancement (cewd.org, 2009). This means that there must be knowledge about how to set up recruitment and retention packages that are built around giving younger workers opportunities for advancement if they meet certain training needs. The development of a performance appraisal system that offers ongoing feedback in relation to their efforts and contributions would be one essential piece of knowledge needed so that there is not a high turnover cost issue. The goal is to have well-trained and dedicated support teams that want to remain with the company because their needs are satisfied and they feel that the organisation will help them to become better developed. Advantages and disadvantages of self-employment The main advantage of self-employment is the level of control that is experienced by ownership (DVR, 2009). This means control over the owner’s own job security and as the majority business decision-maker. Having the ability to make all decisions from hiring to setting up new business models allows the entrepreneur to gauge his or her own success. Another advantage is being able to set one’s own pace for growth or expansion. A small business owner can decide whether they want to offer new innovations so that they can diversify their service offerings or feel more comfortable with a small-scale business that brings low-level profit. There are not as many pressures from other managers, as found in traditional corporate environments, to comply with demands from a centralised source of authority. One disadvantage to self-employment lies in areas of marketing and promotion. A business that is just starting has no previous history of positive reputation or market presence, therefore it becomes much harder to build a quality brand name as a new business (Christman, 2008). This means starting from scratch without the ability to rely on existing promotional efforts to reach more customers. Another disadvantage is the time investment in small business operations. A new consulting business will require the owner to work much harder than the typical nine to five career position (DVR, 2008). The organisational commitment needed from the new consulting business owner will require morning until night dedication in order to assess and plan strategy to become more competitive. It requires a dedicated person to give this type of time investment that can impact family and the social life. Ethical responsibilities and employment criteria As an engineering professional, ethical responsibilities include being honest when dealing with customers and employers. Employees must exhibit positive behaviours and maintain professionalism when dealing with clients, such as avoiding conflict and always presenting the business to others with dedication. An engineering professional, especially one that is outsourced to assist other businesses, will be a focus representative for the company and must avoid giving others certain trade secrets or manufacturing processes so that the business can achieve or maintain competitive advantage. The key ethical obligation is to remain loyal to the employer and not sacrifice its future with unprofessional behaviours. When looking for a first job in engineering, the most important criteria include opportunities for advancement and the ability to receive bonus compensation for reaching organisational goals. The company must have a strong emphasis on human resources, such as through development and coaching, that help develop skills and knowledge that can be transferred into positions such as management or executive leadership. The idea is to find a business opportunity and then remain there to grow and help the company expand. During interviews, it would be important to discover what kind of advancement or feedback systems are in place so that individual performance can be appraised. Bonus compensation for meeting organisational goals will provide the motivation needed to succeed and remain dedicated to meeting corporate goals. The SME versus larger organisations Working for an SME will likely not provide the same advancement opportunities most common in larger organisations. The larger business has more presence in their industry, which could lead to higher financial resources for domestic or international expansion. As a person that desires growth and promotion as a career objective, the SME has many disadvantages for personal growth. A smaller organisation also requires employees to work harder to set up its reputation in marketing, therefore setting a more tightly-knit organisational culture that rewards teamwork more than individual accomplishment. This might prevent certain motivated employees from being overlooked for bonus receipt when they are overshadowed by team efforts. An advantage of the SME is that there is less cultural division that might be found in larger organisations, simply because staffing levels are much lower. There would likely be less cultural conflict, allowing people to work together more successfully and really begin to develop long-lasting, rewarding peer or management relationships. Larger organisations have people with many diverse backgrounds and needs that can cause ongoing conflict and business disruption. Conclusion and recommendation A new consulting business will require dedicated staff willing to help the business grow and become competitive. It will need a leader with strong skills in human relations that remains devoted to ongoing time investment to assist staff members and strengthen client relationships. In the position of an engineering employee, there is a strong ethical demand for professionalism and trade secret protection. It is recommended that before launching a new small business, the leader conduct a self-analysis to identify key strengths and weaknesses in areas of ethics, customer relationship management, and self-direction relating to how successful the entrepreneur wants the business to become. Self-analysis will be critical in knowing what personal motives are and then trying to find employees or an organisational employer that can help achieve these goals. References Aziz, N. & Yasin, N. (2004). The influence of market orientation on marketing competency and the effect of internet-marketing integration, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Patrington. 16(2), p.3. Bambacas, M. & Bordia, P. (2009). Predicting different commitment components: the relative effects of how career development HRM practices are perceived, Journal of Management and Organization, Lyndfield. 15(2), pp.224-241. Cewd.org. (2009). Workforce training for the power sector. Scott Madden Management Consultants. http://www.cewd.org/summit09/presentations/13%20scottmadden.pdf. (accessed April 25, 2010). Christman, S. (2008). 23 Disadvantages of self-employment. http://www.pfadvice.com/2008/02/22/23-disadvantages-of-self-employment/ (accessed April 26, 2010). DVR. (2009). Self-Employment business start-up toolkit: Assisting DVR Consumers to Pursue their Goal of Starting a Business. Wisconsin Division of Vocational Rehabilitiation. http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dvr/pdf_files/self_employment_toolkit.pdf (accessed April 27, 2010). Garger, J. (2010). Being an entrepreneur: what separates them from others? http://www.brighthub.com/office/entrepreneurs/articles/61659.aspx. (accessed April 26, 2010). Maxwell, J.R. (2008). Work system design to improve the economic performance of the firm, Business Process Management Journal, Bradford. 14(3), p.432. Tarricone, P. & Luca, J. (2002). Employees, teamwork and social interdependence – a formula for successful business?, Team Performance Management, 8(3/4), pp.54-60. Ward, S. (2010). Thinking of starting a small business?. http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/startup/a/startownbiz_3htm (accessed April 26, 2010). Read More