Compilation of References and Online Resources

This document compiles a list of references and online sources used in various academic studies across multiple disciplines. The references cover topics such as sustainable business innovation, smart city development, action research, high-commitment HR practices, family business governance, integrated coastal management, organizational justice, electronic word-of-mouth, and enterprise agility. The online resources include company profiles from Company House Beta, providing access to information on companies such as Austin Fraser Limited and Accenture PLC. This compilation is useful for students looking for references and online sources for academic research in these areas.

Business Skills

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Small business enterprise, its business profile, strengths and weakness...............................1
1.2 Different comparative tools to determine business performance..........................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Required actions overcome current weaknesses of small business enterprise.....................5
2.2 Ways through which small business enterprise can make its business performance strong.6
2.3 Justification for new areas in which small business enterprise can be expanded.................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Appraisal of current objectives and plans of small business enterprise................................7
3.2 Revision of current organisational plan so that company can incorporate appropriate
changes........................................................................................................................................8
3.3 New action plan to implement new modification within work place...................................9
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
4.1 Influence of new proposed changes on small business enterprise and its personnel............9
4.2 Change management within work place.............................................................................10
4.3 Monitoring and controlling of improvements in performance of organisation over a given
timescale....................................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
In the modern world, various small business enterprises are establishing which help in
fulfilling needs and wants of local people. They are not highly successful as large organizations
are but still SMEs contribute a lot in national and economic development of country. It is highly
important for the owner of small companies to develop business skills in order to review and
manage their organisational performance. With the help of this, firm can focus on their
procedures and change management. UK’s economy is very strong just because of its highly
successful small business enterprises (Zhao, 2012). This project report is focused on ''Austin
Fraser'' which is specialised in providing the consultancy services. This company is focusing on
its business skills so that it can make appropriate changes for better growth and development. In
this report, current performance of this enterprise has been evaluated by taking the help of
different comparative measures. Some appropriate changes have been introduced which can help
this firm in improving its work performance. New organizational plan has been prepared as well
to incorporate the new changes. At last, the impact of change management has been evaluated.
TASK 1
1.1 Small business enterprise, its business profile, strengths and weakness
In the present scenario, small business enterprises are contributing more in national
growth as compared to large corporations. They generates various employment opportunities for
unemployed people and also helps local people by satisfying their different needs and demands.
In the United Kingdom, there are various SMEs which are continuously generating a huge
amount of profit. Mainly, they provide their products and services to local people and big
companies so that they can operate their business activities and practices in the most effective
manner. Austin Fraser is one of the leading small business enterprises. It provides various
recruitment and consultancy services to other corporations. There are various points which help
this company in becoming successful and powerful. These are as follows:
 This company gives core attention to its customers that is why it provides them high
quality services (Wan, 2011).
 Austin Fraser always try to focus on those tools and techniques which help it in
developing its existing business performance.
1

 This company has limited number of workers who cooperate with each other to operate
organisational activities in the most effective and systematic manner.
 This organisation conducts various market researches which help it in identifying the
actual needs and wants of its customers.
Hence, these are some most important points which make company more powerful and
successful. Apart from this, there are some other strengths and weaknesses of this organisation
which are discussed as below:
Strengths: It includes those positive characteristics which make Austin Fraser strong and these
are as follows:
 The biggest strength of this company is its great presence in UK market.
 It is highly known for its high quality products or services.
 Its knowledge management system is so effective which helps it in gathering accurate
information about market place.
 It has a positive brand image in the United Kingdom which makes its recall is very
high.
Weaknesses: It includes those characteristics which influence negative impact on the business
performance of Austin Fraser and these are as follows:
 The biggest weakness of this company is its poor access to finance. In simple words, it
has to face various problems such as lack of innovation, less number of employees, etc.
due to its poor financial conditions (Voogt and Roblin, 2012).
 In the present scenario, there are various new entities establishing which provide
recruitment services on very low prices which put a negative impact on its
organizational profit and future growth.
1.2 Different comparative tools to determine business performance
Austin Fraser is one of the leading staffing and recruiting firm of United Kingdom which
which is specialised in IT recruitment, Project management, engineering recruitment,
consultancy, SAP, web developers, network security and some other fields. This company have
strength of approx around 45 employees. For generating better results, this enterprise needs to
evaluate its organisational performance on regular basis. By doing this, it can determine that in
2

which areas should its improve itself. There are various tools and techniques through which
Austin Fraser can easily determine its current business performance and these are follows as
under:
Quality Audit: It is that systematic process which helps in evaluating quality system of company
by taking help of internal or external auditor or by a specific audit team. It is considered as most
important part of organisation because with the help of this enterprise can determine quality of
its produced products and services.
Satisfaction level of customers: It is huge responsibility of all organisation to provide high
customer satisfaction otherwise it can not accomplish its desired goals and objectives. Austin
Fraser can also take help of this tool to measure its actual position in market place. This company
provides high quality services to its clients which provides them big satisfaction so, it can be said
business performance of this company is quite good (Tseng and Lin, 2011).
Financial reports: Every organisation prepare its financial statement in end of the year, which
provides current performance of company. For example, if financial profit of company is
increasing every year that it means it have good market position and also it is growing into right
direction. Austin Fraser have various competitors in market place such as Accenture, PWC,
KPMG and so on which is giving it tough competition. By comparing financial statement of
Austin Fraser with other firms, its manager can easily evaluate its business performance.
3

Hence, this is the financial statement of Austin Fraser which represents that its financial
condition is not that much good, As compare to Acenture.
4

Hence, This is the financial position of Accenture which represents that it does not have
any debts as compare to Austin Fraser also it is developing in appropriate manner.
TASK 2
2.1 Required actions overcome current weaknesses of small business enterprise
It is major responsibility of all business enterprise to determine their strong as well as
weak point so that they make appropriate change in its work place according to them. There
various strengths of Austin Fraser which helps it in increasing profitability as well as
productivity. Apart from this, it also have some weaknesses which creates various problems for
it. The biggest issue which is influencing negative impact on Austin Fraser is that its high work
load. It have limited number of employees which are not able to perform different roles and
responsibilities at same time. High work burden reduce the innovation level from company
because employees with high work burden they can not think in innovative way, also they start
duplication of work. At present, Austin Fraser is working on three major concepts which is
putting huge pressure on its work force (Sotiriadis and Van Zyl, 2013). By dividing work in
different groups, company ca minimise the work load and also it should work on one project at
5

one time so that their will be no chance of duplication. The another problem with Austin Fraser
is that there are various competitor firm in market which are providing same recruiting and
consultancy service on cheap prices which is also influencing negating impact on its business
growth and development. But by taking help of innovative tools and procedures it can provide
high quality products to its customer which will help it in increasing its customer base. Austin
Fraser have few market share which it can cover by expanding its business in other countries. It
can build strong corporate image in marketplace by performing various CSR activities, it can
also help it in achieving customer trust.
2.2 Ways through which small business enterprise can make its business performance strong
Every business enterprise have some strengths which makes them strong in marketplace
and some weaknesses which makes them weak in market place as compare to other companies.
To overcome weaknesses and improving business performance Austin Fraser can take help of
various activities which are follows as under:
 Team building and working: This company is facing various problems because of high
work pressure, to resolve this problem it can increase the level of team building and
working through which its employees can operate its all business activities in systematic
manner which can result in high profitability and productivity (Palaiologos, Papazekos,
and Panayotopoulou, 2011).
 Consumer preferences: By providing high satisfaction to customer, Austin Fraser can
satisfy different needs and wants of its clients. If it will help other organisation by
providing the most qualified candidate then it can increase its customer base which will
help it in improving its current business share and performance.
 Product/service quality: By producing and delivering high quality services it can make
its customer loyal and also can attract a huge number of new people.
 Performing social issues: This enterprise have such negative image in market place
because it do not give importance to social issues and welfare but by performing
corporate social responsibilities it can build positive as well as strong brand image within
market place.
Hence, these are some most important activities which should be followed by Austin
Fraser for strengthening and improving its current business performance.
6

2.3 Justification for new areas in which small business enterprise can be expanded
For better growth and development it is highly important for organization to increase its
profitability and productivity which can be possible by searching new areas of improvement and
development. Austin Fraser is suffering from various problems due to its poor brand image and
limited number of market share. There are various areas in which this enterprise can expand its
business and these discussed below:
Market development: According to this concept, Austin Fraser can expand its business in new
market places. In simple words, for better growth and development this company can start
delivering its services in new countries through which it can easily increase its market share.
This company can select Asian and Russian market because they both are developing regions
and there are huge number of future opportunities (Pak and Majd, 2011).
Diversification: Apart from market development, organisation can diversify its service line and
can provide them in brand new markets. But for this organization needs high level of investment.
Austin Fraser can adopt this strategy but after some years.
Hence, these are the major strategies through which organization can easily expand its
business.
TASK 3
3.1 Appraisal of current objectives and plans of small business enterprise
Every business enterprise have their own objectives and plans which they create for
enhancing high level of financial profit. Without preparing strategic plans, company can not
accomplish its desired goals and objectives in systematic manner. Different objectives of Austin
Fraser are follows as under:
Financial profit: The major objective of this company is organisational profitability and
productivity. This is common goal of every business enterprise because without generating
enough level of profit the can not exist in competitive market place (Neubauer and Lank, 2016).
Business expansion: Next objective of Austin Fraser is Global expansion, with the help of this it
can increase its market share and also can build strong market position in domestic as well as
international marketplace.
7

Enhance brand image: This is the most important objectives of company, it wants to create its
positive brand image so that it can attract a huge number of people and also can make its existing
customer more loyal.
Competitive advantage: In modern world, market competition is increasing very day. So, to
survive in such competitive market place it have to improve its business performance. For this, it
should provide most innovative services to its customer so that it can become first choice of
various big organisations for recruiting process (McClean and Collins, 2011).
Hence, these are some most important objectives of Austin Fraser for which it creates
various strategical and policies so that it can achieve them in systematic manner. Apart from this,
it use effective plan which helps it in accomplishing its desired results. In which it follows
strategic approach, digitalisation and innovative methods.
3.2 Revision of current organisational plan so that company can incorporate appropriate changes
Austin Fraser has faced various business problems and t over come them it has made
various changes in its work place. To incorporate those modifications within work place this
company have to revise its business plan. There are various steps which can help this
organisation in developing its business plan in most effective manner. All those steps are follows
as under:
Goal setting: The most important step of business planning is to set targets. New objectives of
Austin Fraser are large market share, organisational profitability, productivity, customer
satisfaction and business expansion (Little, 2012).
Developing plan: After setting all goals and objectives, business manager should evaluate all
those factors which can influence impact on its organisational activities and practices. With the
help of SWOT and PESTLE analysis Austin Fraser can easily determine all environmental
factors which can affects its business performance.
Resource allocation: This organisation allocates its available resources in appropriate manner so
that it can operate its all organizational activities and practices in most effective manner.
Monitoring and controlling: This is the last step of business developing plan. In this, Austin
Fraser takes help of various tools and techniques such as quality audit, level of customer
satisfaction etc. use to monitor its current business performance.
8

3.3 New action plan to implement new modification within work place
To make new changes within work place it is highly important for Austin Fraser to
prepare a new action plan so that it can accomplish its desired goals and objectives in most
effective manner. Different steps of its new action plan are follows as under:
Market analysis: Before making any action plan, it is highly important for organization to
conduct market research so that it can identify current needs and wants of its customer. In
present time, almost all organization needs high skilled workers that is why they make contacts
with third parties or recruiting firms (Iles and Martin, 2013). so, in present scenario their is huge
scope for Austin Fraser. With the help of market analysis company can also identify all those
factors which can affect it while expanding its business in other countries.
Market segmentation: After analysing market, it is highly important for organisation to segment
its market on the basis of geographic and demographic areas. Austin Fraser is a staffing and
Recruiting company so that it should target corporate sector, educations hubs and universities.
These are the main sectors which requires enlisting services for hiring high qualified staff
persons.
Target market segment strategy: This organisation has selected Universities, corporate area and
education hub because in these sectors it can provide its recruitment services. By providing its
services in these areas it can increase its market share and also can increase its organizational
profit and productivity (Cummings and Worley, 2014).
TASK 4
4.1 Influence of new proposed changes on small business enterprise and its personnel
Every business enterprise adopts some new changes so that it can perform its business
activities and practices in most effective manner. There are various modification which has been
adopted by this organization and these are follows as under:
Business expansion: By expanding its business worldwide it can generate high level of financial
profit and also can increase its market share (Crowston and Qin, 2011).
Technology advancement: By providing high quality products and services to customer
company can increase its customer base and also can operate its organizational activities in
innovative manner.
9

More focus on customer satisfaction: This company have decided to focus more on its clients so
that it can provide them better satisfaction which can retain them for long time period.
4.2 Change management within work place
It is one of the significance for an enterprise to manage their changes in order to provide
a long term success in the longer run. Cited firm wants to implement new technological
advancement in their system in order to increase organisational efficiency and effectiveness. For
instance they are going to use digital media platform such as Facebook, Instagram etc. which
helps to interact with their customers and client in an effective manner so that they cam meet
their long term goal and target (Abeysekera, 2013). For this, the role of HR manager is to
provide effective and appropriate training to them so that their employee's can perform its task in
an effective manner. On the other hand, this is responsibilities of top management and functional
department to communicate with them and tries to solve their issue relating to proposed changes.
Further, they also required to maintain harmonious relation with its customer so that it will leads
to increase loyalty towards the business organisation.
4.3 Monitoring and controlling of improvements in performance of organisation over a given
timescale
Change management is not enough for the enterprise, because this is role of the top
management is to analysis and evaluate the effectiveness of these changes for the enterprise in
the short and longer run. There are various tools and techniques which can be used by the
functional department in order to monitor these changes on regular basis so that they can modify
its strategies accordingly (Angelova, B. and Zekiri, J., 2011). For instance, company can use 360
degree feedback in order to examine the current performance level of their customer and provide
them competitive advantage in the near future.
CONCLUSION
By evaluating this project report, it has been concluded that there is huge role of small
business enterprise in economic development and improvement. As, it provides various
employment opportunities to unemployed people. It is highly important for this type of
organization to focus on their business skills and their development so that they can manage their
company's performance on regular basis. This project report is focused on Austin Fraser which is
one of the leading small business enterprise of United Kingdom. This company should focus on
10

its organizational skills and its development so that it can manage its business performance. This
concept gives importance to all those processes which is involved in organisation. Also, with the
help of this, SME can determine all those changes which are required for managing
organizational performance. Also, business skills assist organization in managing different
proposed changes within work place. Austin Fraser should revise its all objectives and plans so
that it can easily incorporate the appropriate modifications. At the end, different tools of
monitoring and controlling has been explained which are highly important for reviewing
improvements in the performance of business.
11

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Abeysekera, I., 2013. A template for integrated reporting. Journal of Intellectual Capital. 14(2).
pp.227-245.
Angelova, B. and Zekiri, J., 2011. Measuring customer satisfaction with service quality using
American Customer Satisfaction Model (ACSI Model). International Journal of
Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 1(3). p.232.
Biron, M., Farndale, E. and Paauwe, J., 2011. Performance management effectiveness: lessons
from world-leading firms. The International Journal of Human Resource Management.
22(06). pp.1294-1311.
Bridge, S. and O'Neill, K., 2012. Understanding enterprise: entrepreneurship and small business.
Palgrave Macmillan.
Bryson, J.M. and Alston, F.K., 2011. Creating your strategic plan: A workbook for public and
nonprofit organizations (Vol. 3). John Wiley & Sons.
Crowston, K. and Qin, J., 2011. A capability maturity model for scientific data management:
Evidence from the literature. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science
and Technology. 48(1). pp.1-9.
Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014. Organization development and change. Cengage
learning.
Iles, A. and Martin, A.N., 2013. Expanding bioplastics production: sustainable business
innovation in the chemical industry. Journal of Cleaner Production. 45. pp.38-49.
Lee, J.H., Phaal, R. and Lee, S.H., 2013. An integrated service-device-technology roadmap for
smart city development. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 80(2). pp.286-
306.
Little, M.E., 2012, January. Action research and response to intervention: Bridging the discourse
divide. In The Educational Forum (Vol. 76, No. 1, pp. 69-80). Taylor & Francis Group.
McClean, E. and Collins, C.J., 2011. High‐commitment HR practices, employee effort, and firm
performance: Investigating the effects of HR practices across employee groups within
professional services firms. Human Resource Management. 50(3). pp.341-363.
Neubauer, F. and Lank, A.G., 2016. The family business: Its governance for sustainability.
Springer.
Pak, A. and Majd, F., 2011. Integrated coastal management plan in free trade zones, a case study.
Ocean & coastal management. 54(2), pp.129-136.
Palaiologos, A., Papazekos, P. and Panayotopoulou, L., 2011. Organizational justice and
employee satisfaction in performance appraisal. Journal of European Industrial
Training. 35(8). pp.826-840.
Sotiriadis, M.D. and Van Zyl, C., 2013. Electronic word-of-mouth and online reviews in tourism
services: the use of twitter by tourists. Electronic Commerce Research. 13(1). pp.103-
124.
Team, S.U., 2011. Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI) A,
Version 1.3: Method Definition Document.
Tseng, Y.H. and Lin, C.T., 2011. Enhancing enterprise agility by deploying agile drivers,
capabilities and providers. Information Sciences. 181(17). pp.3693-3708.
12

Voogt, J. and Roblin, N.P., 2012. A comparative analysis of international frameworks for 21st
century competences: Implications for national curriculum policies. Journal of
curriculum studies. 44(3). pp.299-321.
Wan, Y.K.P., 2011, April. Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of Macao as an attractive
meeting and convention destination: Perspectives of key informants. In Journal of
Convention & Event Tourism (Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 129-151). Taylor & Francis Group.
Zhao, M., 2012. CSR-based political legitimacy strategy: Managing the state by doing good in
China and Russia. Journal of Business Ethics. 111(4). pp.439-460.
Online
Company house beta. 2017. Austin Fraser Limited. [Online]. Available through:
<https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/05684470/filing-history>. [Accessed on
13th September 2017].
Company house beta. 2017. Acenture PLC. [Online]. Available through:
<https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/05684470/filing-history>. [Accessed on
13th September 2017].
13