Small Business Management Strategies

This assignment delves into the critical aspects of managing small businesses effectively. It examines various strategic approaches to organizational structure, highlighting the importance of adapting to changing market dynamics. The role of change management in navigating business transformations is also analyzed, emphasizing its impact on employee morale and overall success. Furthermore, the assignment discusses performance measurement techniques crucial for evaluating and improving operational efficiency within small businesses.

Small Business
Enterprise
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Producing business profile by identifying SMART objectives and strengths and
weaknesses...................................................................................................................................3
1.2 Analysis using three different comparative measures...........................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Recommending appropriate actions with justifications to overcome the weakness..............5
2.2 Analysing the existing performance for maintaining the strengths.......................................5
2.3 Areas for business expansion.................................................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Assessment of existing business objectives and plans..........................................................7
3.2 Revised business plan............................................................................................................7
3.3 Action plan for implementing changes..................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
4.1 Impact of proposed changes..................................................................................................9
4.2 Change management plan......................................................................................................9
4.3 Monitoring improvements in performance..........................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
Small business enterprises are those set ups that are largely contributing in the economic
development of nation to a great extent. These are mostly referred to be small scale business
establishments with no more than 250 numbers of employees. Many startup businesses are
together representing themselves in the category of small to medium size organizations (Storey,
2016). It is where they are either owned by the individual’s themselves depicting a sole
proprietorship firm or by their family members in partnership. There exist yet other criteria to
fulfill the norms of Small to medium size business entities also termed an SME where they must
possess less than £25m turnover with minimum £12.5m gross assets. The present report has
outlined such constitutional formation of SME organisations by electing an analogous venture
named Performance in People Ltd. It is one of the renowned SME Corporation in UK known for
their customer service consultancy and mystery shopping.
TASK 1
1.1 Producing business profile by identifying SMART objectives and strengths and weaknesses
About the company:
Performance in People Ltd. is one of the organisations that works with global and
national brands as a consultancy firm so that customer experience can be improved. This
organisation has about 35000 mystery shoppers and 90 employees working at the head office
(About Us, 2017). Established in 2000, the organisation has been able to achieve great
recognition amongst mystery shoppers. The company has developed wide range of applications
that are helpful in increasing the satisfaction level of customers with enhancement in sales.
This is in context to create the business profile of Performance in People Ltd where they
are mainly relied upon their undertaken organisational missions and visions that are as referred
below- Mission- A considerate mission of the cited entity is to deliver a variety of industry
leading amenities as a way of improving the customer service level for their respective
clients and users (Curran and Storey, 2016).
 Vision- It is in correspondence to the above stated mission of the quoted firm where they
are thoroughly looking to improve customer service level across UK.
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It is therefore on conducting both macro and micro analysis of Performance in People Ltd.,
below are the macro environmental factors that involves some external environmental factors
influencing the undertaken decisions of business- Economic factors- These are the factors that largely impact upon the fiscal decisions of
business organisations like Performance in People Ltd., where UK is presently dealing
with a stabilized economic status (Burrows, 2015). In context to which, there are now
equal number of middle to low income classes that can be targeted by the cited firm. Competition/ Competitors: Competition is a factor which helps in bringing more
effectiveness in the functioning of the organisation. It also helps in prohibiting the
exploitation practises against customers which often occurs due to monopoly (Hayes,
2014). The competitors of Performance in People Ltd. are those firms and organisations
which are functioning in the consultancy sector. Whitehouse Consultancy is one such
competitor of this organisation.
 Demographic factors- These are those influential factors that plays a crucial role in
determining the value of organisation’s projected products and services. It is where this
constituent is likely to specify the actual preferences of the customers that in turn assist
the quoted firm to design accordant commodities for them (Agrawal, 2016). It is thus in
context to the present demographic trend of UK, there exists a large number of young
age users who are more concerned with the acquisition of modern-day facilities.
However, the micro factors are certain internal environmental factors that equally
influences the business to a great extent and are as referred below-
 Managers- The appointed managers of Performance in People Ltd Are extremely
supportive in nature where almost all their employees are favourably agreed to their
undertaken leadership methods (Storey, 2016). Also, all the managers are mostly
positioned at this level after going through an internal promotion that in turn depicts their
thorough cognition about the overall work procedures of the cited entity.
The above carried analysis have further assisted to assess the strengths and weaknesses of
Performance in People Ltd., that are as defined below-
Strengths- A positive work environs in Performance in People Ltd is referred to be their
leading forte with a well-managed team of individuals. This in turn have illustrated varied
progressive work agendas by them where they are getting into greener work technologies in a
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dedicating manner with a prior support of their proficient managerial team. Quite large customer
share has been acquired by the company according to the operational standards. The mission and
vision of this organisation have been developed appropriately which automatically helps in
building strong strategies.
Weaknesses- A lacking agenda of advertisement with less recognition of their business
are referred to be certain weaken dimensions of Performance in People Ltd (Goss, 2015).
Additionally, low level of fund to invest more into the enlargement of their existent business is
together referred to be yet another major weakness of the elected company. The company is not
so compatible or adaptive to technical advancements which means it lacks updation of
technology.
Opportunities: The business world is full of opportunities when assessed and analysed on
time. It is important for the concerned company to recognise and utilise these opportunities so
that larger benefits can be gathered. Performance in People Ltd. has opportunity of improving its
services and products for the current customer share (Blackburn, Hart and Wainwright, 2013).
On the other hand, the organisation also holds an opportunity in bringing in new services and
products or expand business in different locations. This helps in increasing brand awareness and
recognition amongst potential customers.
Threats: Increasing competition is a major threat which is faced by the company in the
current functioning market. This competition if not tackled correctly can bring in a lot of trouble
in the near future (Cavusgil and et. al., 2014). It is possible that the entire customer share will
substitute services of Performance in People Ltd with other organisations' products. This implies
increasing awareness of customers and opportunities for competitors is a major threat for the
company. Furthermore, the factors like Brexit, Immigration and diversity are more threatening
for the company.
Both these analytical approaches have subsequently supported in framing three SMART
objectives for Performance in People Ltd., as stated below-
1. To determine the factual preferences of today’s contemporary set of customers with a
special context to young age consumers.
2. To identify those influential factors that directly impacts upon the purchase decisions of
customers (Blackburn, Hart and Wainwright, 2013).
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3. To ascertain the role of customer satisfaction to enhance the loyal perspective of users
associated with Performance in People Ltd towards their proposed goods and services.
Key Performance Indicators:
The key performance indicators are referred as KPIs which help in developing
appropriate links with the business objectives so that strategic actions and activities can take
place. The KPI for Performance in People Ltd. is based on the ranking and ratings which are
acquired by customers and stakeholders in surveys and feedbacks. Furthermore, the index and
percentage of employees or customers that are satisfied with the services and products of
company.
1.2 Analysis using three different comparative measures
Comparative measures are basically undertaken to analyse the existing position of the
organisations like Performance in People Ltd with that to the contenders in the market. It is
based upon several parameters of comparison to relate among the undertaken practices of one
organisation with that to the another organisation operating in a similar area of business.
This is basically to analysis the present business performance of the quoted entity with
support of three distinct comparative measures, as outlined below-
1. Customer satisfaction- It is a foremost method to analyse the business performance of
the cited firm by continually surveying their clients and users by the employees via
feedback forms, etc.
2. Benchmarking- It is yet another beneficial tact by comparing one’s own performance
with the contenders as a way of analysing any gap in one other’s provisioning (Ratten,
2014).
3. Reviewing progress against business objectives- This is one of the most feasible tact
while referring to expand the business by investing funds where the targeted
objectives must be constantly measured by the quoted entity to check their growth.
The key performance indicators which have been used by Performance in People Ltd.
include ratings, rankings and percentage satisfaction. These parameters have been helpful in
bringing more effectiveness in the delivery of services and products.
Financial Profits:
The financial profits help in stabilising and fulfilling the monetary demands that occur in
different business operations. There is always a minimum margin which needs to be kept so that
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expenses can be managed and further investments can be made. In the process of improving
customer service, the company does earn sufficient profits which are further utilised for different
operations. It is hereby on referring to the real facts of financial profits in context to SME
business organisations such as Performance in People Ltd., where they are estimated to earn and
average profit of 1, 000 GBP as of the year 2018 (Average profit of SMEs in the UK 2014-2016,
by enterprise size, 2017). It is together with reference to its increasing number of profits in
comparison to their previous years earnings.
Return on investment:
Any investment that yields maximum profit for the company without incurring any other
cost is considered as return on investment. The Performance in People Ltd. is able to manage
their resources especially the financial ones effectively and bring in many return on investment
projects.
Comparative analysis:
The Whitehouse Consultancy is one of the prominent competitors of Performance in
People Ltd. The resources which are utilised by the company have to be accurate when
considered in terms of quantities. The company is able to strategically plan and utilise its
resources so that business objectives are met and there is no much wastage or loss. On the other
hand, White consultancy is also providing a neck to neck competition which helps in bringing
innovation and strength for the company.
TASK 2
2.1 Recommending appropriate actions with justifications to overcome the weakness
It is on the basis of above identified weaknesses of the cited firm where they are currently
referred to have a low financial prospect to further grow their business in a directional manner. It
is however due to a less fiscal stability, they are together dealing with a less scope of expansion
to further extend their business operations at an international level. However, they are hereby
recommended differentiating themselves by proposing more diversified products and services for
their clients and users as a way of contending their rivals in the market (Barber, Metcalfe and
Porteous, 2016). Apart from which, they can also opt for a private equity partner who can refer to
invest into their business. This in turn will support them to expand the business to certain
exponential marketplaces to acquire a profitable status with more number of shares and revenues.
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However, they can also refer to move onto some emerging markets by carrying out a primary
analysis to recognize the realistic needs and demands of the users they will be targeting over
there. This will be proven to be a first move advantage for Performance in People Ltd to
overcome their weaknesses in a distinct manner.
This is on the basis of above identified weaknesses of Performance in People Ltd, where
they are lacking in promoting themselves with some effective marketing strategies like
advertisements, etc. Also, they are referred to have less technical cognition with fewer funds to
invest. It is thus to get rid of these weaken dimension, McKinsey's 7S model can be used by
them in concord to its below defined measures.
 Strategy- This is to adopt some effective ways to resolve the above identified issues by
referring to a yearly planning approach by using certified techniques to operate in a
digitalised manner.
These techniques which are to be used for finding the best strategy:
Management skills improvement: Small medium enterprises need to improve the skills of their
management. It is management who take care of the employees and improve their skills in
respect of their satisfaction. They have to make interpersonal contact with the employees thereby
achieving the standards of the organisation and helps avoiding conflicts.
Professional procedures or advice: Small and medium enterprises need professional advice from
some of the experts, or specialists. Generally they need to take advice from the accountants.
 Structure- Herein, cross functional groups along with steering teams can be hired by
Performance in People to efficiently operate into a directional manner. This together
indicates another prime requisition of integrating with the digitalised tact of marketing
by appointing a distinct department of IT.
 Systems- Incorporated measures for the reporting of effectiveness obtained from digital
marketing by referring to certain technical solutions.
 Staff- A breakdown structure for the staff members can be employed on the basis of
their educational background, etc., to employ them at the most suitable position.
 Style- It is in context to the organisational goals of Performance in People Ltd where
they should adopt effective styles of leadership to handle their workforce by outlining a
long term vision for transformation.
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 Skills- Classifiable abilities of the key staff are required to be interpreted to address
some specific areas such as the selection of the suppliers, management of project and
content management by using specific e-marketing tools.
 Shared values- These are some guiding concepts for Performance in People Ltd to
successfully operate into the world of digitalization. Wherein, they are hereby required
to arrange liable sessions of training and development for the workers to acknowledge
the disciplinary way of utilizing the digital tools.
2.2 Analysing the existing performance for maintaining the strengths
It is in concord to some leading strengths of Performance in People Ltd discovered in the
preceding section of this report and in context to which, they are referred to have a reinforced
staff with active leaders and managers to handle their overall work prospects. In addition to
which, they are also possessing a fortified outlook towards technical associations at work by
getting into some greener technologies to accomplish their respective assignations (Cavusgil and
et. al., 2014). However, it is not referred to be a sufficient configuration of their work to succeed
towards a contending business for a long term survival. They are thus required to get into some
more beneficial agendas to fulfil the factual expectations of their clients and users.
This necessitates them to carry out a thorough analysis of their market whose trends often
kept on changing by together altering the customary demands of the consumers. However, for
bringing on such changed work set up at the workplace, the leaders and mangers are together
required to make some additive efforts to prevent their workers from resisting it (Cassar, Ittner
and Cavalluzzo, 2015). For this, they may refer to instil a lucrative reward system at work to
appreciate the standardised work performance of the employees. Several motivational tools
involving the tact of provisioning both monetary and non-financial benefits to the employees will
together justify such undertaken approach.
Beside this, there together exists some other recommendatory measures so as to maintain
the existent performance of Performance in People in Ltd with retained strengths- Maintained market share with retained profit/sales & cost- This reflects a foremost
objective of organisations like Performance in People Ltd to maintain their market shares
with raised sales and profits under a maintained cost. For which, the cited firm should
hereby conduct regular surveys in their market so as to acknowledge the recent market
trends and launch accordant products and services for the users to satisfy their latest
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needs and demands. This will in turn intensify their sales with a raised level of earnings
that will automatically turn into higher level of profits and market shares. Maintained performance records/feedback- This is yet another major consideration of
organisations like Performance in People Ltd where they must keep pertinent records of
their yearly performance by together exchanging feedbacks from the concerned officials. Customer satisfaction/ Benchmarking- This is one of the most important outlook of the
quoted firm to retain the customers where they must be fully satisfied from the services
that are being provisioning to them. Apart from this, benchmarking technique is together
referred to be a considerate measure to evaluate their attained objectives with that to the
set objectives to ascertain any gap among the two that can be fulfilled with some likely
measures.
 Employee motivation/maintain their strengths- Employees being another most important
part of an organisation are always required to be kept motivated where Performance in
People Ltd should also use some considerate measures to encourage their workers. This is
basically for inspiring them to work in accordance to the set standards of the organisation
with an ultimate goal of fulfilling the factual desires of the customers.
Analysing the existing performance of the organisation various tools need to be used:
Marketing techniques: this is a very important aspect to be considered so as to target right
customers. Segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) and 4 P's concept needs to be used
which describes which customers to target.
Segmentation: it is basically dividing the market into different segments. SME is identifying
different group of customers that require different products.
Targeting: It targets which customers to serve and this sector is basically targeted to specific
markets in which they can promote their products and services in an effective manner.
Positioning: the department of marketing in SME sector helps in building an image in the minds
of customers about their products as well as services.
4 P'S of marketing mix adopted are:
Product: to meet the needs of different customers small businesses have to choose the right
product and further improve the quality and adding more features to their products and services.
Price: price is also an essential element due to which customer is attracted to our products. Small
businesses generally keep their prices lower to keep their customer base constant.
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Place: choosing the right place where the product can be easily available to the customers is also
an important factor. Various products can be sold through distribution channels or through
various outlets.
Promotion: how to advertise your products to attract more and more customers to increase sales
as well as image in the market. Small business adopt this factor as they are not well established
and customers need to know about them to they need to advertise their products.
Customer relationship management is used in small businesses to interact with the customers so
as to maintain the relationship with the customers in future and attract more and more customers.
It is suggested that a company should provide loyalty schemes or cards to their customers so as
to promote their products and retain their customers.
Service quality is regarded as a main area which needs to be continuously monitored and needs
to be enhanced more. It is recommended that small business organisation should train their
employees in such a way that they can meet the standard quality of products and services. It is
also suggested that they should have a positive attitude towards their customers while providing
services. It can also be enhanced by making a commitment to the workers, and tracking mistakes
of the customers as well.
2.3 Areas for business expansion
This is to ascertain some profitable areas for Performance in People Ltd to further expand
their business as a way of developing it. It can be done by applying a marketing theory named
Ansoff Matrix also termed as growth matrix with its four leading constituents, as referred below-
1. Market Penetration- This strategy is usually being applied in the existent marketplace
where the cited entity can hereby refer to sell their existing products and services with
some more extensive tactics of marketing.
2. Product development- This is yet another growth strategy in which the companies are
more likely to launch newer set of commodities in their prevalent marketplace as a way
of attracting the customers with more differentiated products and services (Agrawal,
2016).
3. Market Development- This is simply to expand the business into newer market sets by
trading their existing products and services that can also be opted by Performance in
People Ltd.
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4. Diversification- This not only means to enlarge the business into new marketplaces but
together means to get into those market sets with new set of commodities as well (Acs,
Audretsch and Lehmann, 2013). This strategy can be applied by the quoted firm by
getting into the emerging marketplaces.
This is on the basis of above carried analysis with the use of Ansoff matrix, Performance
in People Ltd can hereby refer to opt for the tact of market development to get into some newer
set of markets. For which, they can hereby refer to extend their existent service into Asian
markets like India and Bangladesh, etc., that are still developing in nature. The economic
condition of these nations will together support the elected organisation over here to operate
under an affordable operational cost.
It has also been analysed and recommended adopting market penetration strategy which means
that selling their existing products and services in existing markets but in different segment to
increase their market share by adopting attractive promotional strategies. Hence, they can use
different promotional tactics to retain their customers such as providing the freshers with
recruitments for one year at affordable prices as compared to the ones who are experienced.
TASK 3
3.1 Assessment of existing business objectives and plans
Business objectives are developed for gaining a workable path for different business
operations. The company Performance in People Ltd. has current objectives of providing best in-
class services to customers. This organisation has provided a seven step process which will help
other organisations in meeting respective business objectives with long term sustainability
(Storey, 2016). Being a customer service consultancy, the objectives set by company are quite
appropriate according to their business operations. Business plan is prepared by the organisation
for arranging different business activities. The company Performance in People Ltd. has
developed a business plan which is efficient in acquiring present customer share (About Us,
2017).
The existing objectives must be developed with SMART principle so that company can
gain sustainability in the competitive markets. The existing plan of this organisation allows
customers to become mystery shoppers and then avail and experience according to which they
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decide whether to make a future purchase or not. This concept is unique and it helps the
company to strengthen its foundational vision and mission (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). It is
concluded after assessing existing objectives and business plan that organisation can inculcate
better goals in terms of sustainability which help in improvising the corporate image. Moreover,
the company’s current business plan lacks effective marketing concept which can be
incorporated for gaining more recognition amongst audiences.
The existing business objectives are correct but they are moderate in nature. They do not
define high level of aspirations to achieve the best or conquer the markets with maximum
customer share. Furthermore, it is considered that the existing objectives and plans are quite
appropriate and these are more realistic and moderate in nature.
Business Plan: The business plan which is used by the company currently is not bad but it can
be revised for the betterment of Performance in People Ltd. The company is working quite well
and there is financial benefit assessed with help of customer satisfaction.
Assessment of the existing business plan:
Following are the strengths and limitations of the existing plan of the company:
Good points/strengths:
 The plan is more oriented towards technology which is a positive aspect when referring
to future considerations.
 Financial stability is achieved from this plan which is beneficial for the company.
 Sales of the company are consistent.
 The delivery of services to customers is excellent which is quite beneficial for the
organisation.
Bad points/Weaknesses:
 Marketing activities of the company are quite weak which indicates that the business plan
requires improvements.
 The business plan is quite weak at communications which is not a supporting element.
According to the SAFE Criteria following tables provides an assessment of the current
business plan of Performance in People Ltd.
Suitability The proposed strategy of the company is useful in addressing the
upcoming opportunities. Performance in People Ltd. is experiencing a
constraint in enhancing the number of customers.
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Acceptability Stakeholders are quite satisfied with the current strategy and the level
of risk explored by organisation is acceptable. It is not threatening the
current working position in domestic markets. The return is above
average which determines that there is more scope for acquiring
customer attention.
Feasibility The current functional strategy is quite feasible because it doesn't
involves risk in terms of huge financial investments. The existing
employees of the company have respective skills and knowledge which
is sufficient in meeting the requirements. The sources that are required
by the company need to be integrated and obtained both so that
business process is not withheld.
3.2 Revised business plan
The following revised business plan can be adapted by Performance in People Ltd. for
overcoming weaknesses and inculcate specific changes effectively.
SMART Objectives: The new objective which can be implemented by the company is: To
attain 5% growth in upcoming financial year and to function with corporate social responsibility.
Developing a Value proposition: Value proposition can be developed when business
heads consider customers’ and potential customers’ reviews before preparing strategies. The
problems and issues that are being faced by clients and customers while making a purchase with
company are to be evaluated. This shall become milestones while preparing the action plan so
that objectives and goals can be attained (Hayes, 2014). In the current situation, the organisation
should take effective feedbacks from customers and potential segments. It will help in generating
value proposition of the organisation.
Strategic marketing planning: Marketing is a medium of communication with clients
and customers regarding products and services. Strategic marketing planning must be included in
the business plan. This will help in spreading awareness regarding commodities and services of
the company amongst customers present in the market (Hornstein, 2015).
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Evaluation and monitoring: Once all the strategies and plans are prepared and executed,
it is important to apply evaluation and monitoring techniques. This reduces the probability of
errors and unfair practises which can take place at any point of execution.
Since, the current business objectives were not according to the SMART principles these
attributes which have been mentioned before are considered.
Business Plan:
Organisational Chart: It is important to devise an administration which bifurcates all the
business functions in such a manner that there is no confusion in any sort of execution of
operation. The following organisational chart has been devised for Performance in People Ltd.:
The figure depicted above presents different operations of Performance in People Ltd.
The online operations cell can be considered as information technology operation. All these
operations are organised in divisional structure format.
Marketing and Sales:
Marketing and sales are two important operations which help in understanding and
estimating the profits that company shall gain after delivering the services and products.
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Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning i.e. STP and 7Ps i.e. the marketing mix are two
strategic tools which can be used for developing appropriate strategy. Following is the detailed
STP and marketing mix produced for People Performance Ltd.
Segmentation: The Performance in People Ltd. should consider geographical and
demographical segmentation. According to these two criteria the customers of UK can be taken
into consideration and specifically the young individuals that are more oriented with technology.
Example of geographical segmentation: The geographic segmentation for Performance in
People Ltd. is performed with specific approach in country United Kingdom and state England.
The company can become more specific by segregating the strategy according to community and
locality.
Targeting: The market potential and commercial benefits related with a strategy are considered
in market targeting. The company should consider the specific criteria which is used for
segmentation as the targeting base. When delivering the marketing strategy, accessibility of the
targeted consumers is a must.
Positioning: A crucial part of the marketing strategy is positioning. A product or service
positioning map has to be devised by Performance in People Ltd. so that current position in the
operational markets can be analysed. More clear idea about the service is obtained through this
particular map.
Marketing mix:
The 7Ps or elements of marketing mix for Performance in People Ltd. have been
discussed as follows:
Product: The company delivers services to about 35,000 mystery shoppers and assessors.
Customer service consultancy services are provided by the organisation.
Price: Moderate pricing is kept as the basic principle for providing services so that company can
prosper significantly on a gradual basis.
Place: Performance in People Ltd. concentrates to deliver its services and facilities in the
domestic lands only currently. The company can expand its operations on the international basis
so that more customers can be acquired.
Promotion: Social media and digital marketing are the primary platforms that should be
considered by Performance in People Ltd. for promotion.
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Process: The processes which are involved in the delivery of services have to be transformed
with help of advanced technology and minimum cost involved. This shall help in increasing the
efficiency of entire organisation.
Physical evidence: The physical evidence or environment depicts interface which has been a part
of the entire business cycle. Performance in People Ltd. must record and document each and
every activity so that physical evidence is present with the company.
People: The employees, management and culture which is involved within the internal
environment of the company shall be in coherence with organisational objectives and aims. The
customer services provided by Performance in People Ltd. should also be efficient so that high
satisfaction level can be achieved.
Financial Plan:
Since, the company is operating on a small business scale, the budget of this revised
business strategy should be in the limits of financial allowances. Current personal assets can be
utilised for financing the project.
Operations Plan:
Performance in People Ltd. has a great advantage of operating online which itself limits
the cost of production of services and operations. There can be Industry Association
Memberships acquired by the company so that awareness regarding industrial standards and
regulations is acquired on continuous basis. Further, quality control certificates should be
obtained by the company for acquiring trust of customers.
3.3 Action plan for implementing changes
Changes that have been suggested in the above sections can bring in a lot of development
for the company. This can only be possible when there is effective plan and approach to
implementation. Unplanned or unorganised implementation often results in failure of prepared
strategy (Kondalkar, 2013). Following action plan can be implemented by Performance in People
Ltd. in order to apply the specific changes:
Step 1: Task Identification
In this step, the company has to identify the necessary tasks regarding changes. Here, a
market research has to be conducted for analysing present status of organisation. This shall
further help in developing effective marketing plan. Furthermore, a deep routed market analysis
has to be conducted for improvising on objectives.
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Step 2: Analysing and delegation
The tasks that have been designed and developed in the previous step should be analysed
at this stage. Most important component of this action plan is delegation i.e. communication of
respective tasks to the people who are involved with the execution of action plan. It helps in
managing changes effectively (Gollenia, 2016).
The Mckinsey 7S principle which has been discussed before can be used for analysing and
preparing the action plan. It helps in understanding the current performance and structure of
business with more accuracy and precision. Furthermore, an assessment of the needs and
resources for the desired action plan can be provided in this stage. The feedback and control
mechanism have to be initiated so that individual benefits are considered and customer
satisfaction is achieved.
Applying McKinsey 7S principle in the organisation:
The 7S principle when applied to Performance in People Ltd. provides following evaluation:
Strategy: The action plan developed for the company provides competitive advantage.
Structure: The organisational structure allows proper communication of the proposed
strategy which helps in appropriate execution.
Systems: There is proper declaration of the roles and responsibilities which need to be
followed by individuals involved in the team.
Shared Values: The ethics and goals developed by the company are supportive in
developing a good culture and core values amongst employees.
Skills: Employees are competent enough in meeting the work requirements of
organisation and for supporting the execution of respective action plan.
Style: Leaders are the main people who drive all the changes in organisation. The
company should choose a leadership style which is helpful in acquiring trust and faith of all the
stakeholders.
Staff: The company shall not be able to achieve respective goals and objectives when
capable and competent staff is not employed.
Step 3: Double checking or evaluation
Comprehensiveness of the action plan has to be evaluated for understanding future
benefits and advantages which company will experience when concerned changes are
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implemented. Moreover, resources and skills those are required in this action plan are also
evaluated at this stage.
Step 4: Performance measures
The performance measures is the significant component of action plan which helps in
understanding the criteria and standards that need to be set for estimating the level of
performance. Organisation must perceive this attribute for the entire implementation process.
Step 5: Milestones
Milestones help in creating more effectiveness for the concerned action plan. If the company
develops small term and long term goals or milestones then probability of achieving vision,
mission and objectives increases.
Step 6: Setting Deadlines
Deadlines help in creating an unknown pressure for the individuals so that proper execution of
the action plan takes place. This also depicts effective time management and accurate allotment
of time to the company in case of emergency or any barrier occurs in the execution of action
plan.
TASK 4
4.1 Impact of proposed changes
Changes or improvements which have been recognised and implemented in the business
plan of Performance in People Ltd. are:
1. Requirement of effective marketing planning
2. Redesigning of business objectives with corporate social responsibilities
3. Effective market analysis strategies
Before implementing any sort of changes in the company’s current structure, it is
important to evaluate the impact. There are a lot of people involved with functioning of an
organisation like stakeholders and shareholders (Nolan, 2012). This implies any sort of loop hole
in implementation of changes can bring in an adverse impact over these stakeholders and
shareholders. Hence, this evaluation process must be conducted. The proposed changes for
Performance in People Ltd. will help in enhancing progress and development on a large scale.
The marketing strategy will bring in more publicity and branding to this small business
enterprise. Furthermore, the objectives which are oriented with corporate social responsibility
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will provide this organisation a new direction to work on (Gronum, Verreynne and Kastelle,
2012). An overall positive impact shall be experienced by the company when these changes are
introduced and implemented effectively.
Positive impact of Change: Change is an unavoidable part in businesses. Changes are not
always accepted openly as there is hesitation to accept the change. The effects of change could
be long-term but may have positive impact also. Change in business can make it to be in current
trend of the market. It tends to attract more customers towards the enterprise. Change can help
in creating new employment opportunities. The employees and stakeholders are experiencing
positive impact of these changes. The marketing strategies and inclusion of analytical techniques
helps in acquiring more staff for the purpose.
Negative impact of Change: Businesses that adapt changes foster innovation in the
current business. But at the same time businesses that bears change faces negative impact as
well. When the staff of the company withstand change their morale lowers down thinking about
professional future with the organisation they are working. It may also cause disruptive
environment of work. Employees might spread negativity for not accepting the change and
following traditional strategies and methods and forcing others to act in similar manner they are
working. The company has to bear certain costs in developing the resources and then utilising
them according to action plan. The requirement of finance and office space results in little bit of
disturbance in the current functioning.
4.2 Change management plan
Following change management plan is proposed for Performance in People Ltd. to
implement the proposed changes.
Depicting changes and communicating it to respective stakeholders: The respective
changes have to be communicated and depicted to every concerned stakeholder so that confusion
or chaotic situation can be avoided.
Describing scope and benefits: Every change has some sort of scope and benefit. If
employees and other stakeholders are aware about these attributes then the amount of revolt or
resistance for implementing these changes will decrease (Gollenia, 2016).
Developing effective approach: The changes which need to be applied in the business
structure should be implemented with a strategic approach. For instance, a marketing plan can be
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made with help of different theoretical tools like marketing mix principle, segmentation,
targeting and positioning, etc.
Managing roadblocks and tracking resistance: There may be some individuals or groups
who would disagree with the nature of changes or respective decisions. It is important to manage
these roadblocks or resistances so that changes are effectively introduced. If not managed on
time, there are chances that entire action plan will fail (Nolan, 2012).
Monitoring and evaluation: Monitoring and evaluation helps in keeping a tract record of
all the activities which are related with proposed changes. Supervising activities helps in keeping
them aligned with organisational objectives and goals. Moreover, unethical and irrelevant acts
can be curbed through this step.
Lewin step model of change consists of three stages. These stages are described as follows:
 Unfreeze: The first step involves preparing organisation to accept the change that
involves breaking down of the already existing trends before building up new ways.
 Change: This stage involves change in the uncertainty 0of the people and their look out
foe the adoption of change.
 Refreeze: Refreezing is a stage when organisation has adapted change and employees
have started working accordingly , the organisation is ready to refreeze.
Kotter's change model can be used for management of change. It consists of 8 stages.
1. Create a sense of Urgency : This is the most important stage. Support for the change can
be created by creating awareness of the need of the change in the organisation.
2. Create a guiding coalition: Establish a team that can occupy itself to implement change in
the organisation and encourages the employees to adapt and cooperate for the process.
3. Create a vision for Change : The purpose of the change should be formulated so that
everybody can understand the objective that organisation is trying to achieve with the
change.
4. Communicate the vision : It important to create and get support from the employees. It
can only be achieved by discussing the vision of change with the employees.
5. Remove obstacles: It is necessary that the change is accepted by everyone. But there are
certain people who refuses to accept the change and become obstacle .Therefore, it is
needed to remove such obstacles that are resisting change.
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6. Create short term wins: Success always motivates to work harder. Create short term
goals so that employees can understand the idea of what is going on.
7. Consolidate improvements : Victory should not be declared at early stage. Change is a
slow going process.
8. Anchor the changes: This is the last stage. If a change is a part of the organisation then
only it can be a part of corporate culture.
Implementation of change is referred to be a very considerate process that is required to
be carried out in an effective manner by using varied effective channels for the same. Herein, one
can refer to use a change model of ADKAR which is mainly used to interpret the individual's
response towards the required change in the organisation, where Performance in People Ltd can
hereby make an effective use of its distinct phases, as referred below- Awareness- This is to ascertain the awareness level of the workers employed in the
quoted entity where they must be vigilant about the need of change in the existing
practices of the organisation for its ultimate benefit at the end. Desire- It is referred to be another most important constituent of this model on whose
basis, the cited form is hereby required to check whether their employees are agreed with
the necessity of bringing change into the organisation. Knowledge- This is yet another specific agenda of Performance in People Ltd to provide
a need base knowledge to the employees about the change that is being expected to bring
with the help of training and developmental sessions, etc. Ability- This step is to ensure the quality of the employees to practice the attained
knowledge and directionally perform the steps required to be done for bringing change in
the organisation.
 Reinforcement- It is the eventual step in which the concerned officials of Performance in
People Ltd are hereby required to ensure no repetition of old work patterns with a
continual practice of monitoring.
4.3 Monitoring improvements in performance
Monitoring is referred to be a practice of daily observation to continually record the
activities that are taking place in Performance in People Ltd. It is a routine procedure in which
the concerned officials are hereby required to gather data on all identified prospects of an
undertaken plan or project on which they are working at present. Monitoring is basically to
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verify the progression of the project by together ensuring a smooth flow of the activities planned
for its timely accomplishment. It is fundamentally termed as observation and is further
segregated in two type of observational procedures namely systematic observation and
purposeful observation.
Corporate image of a company is totally dependent on the types of products and services
it sells. Customers are the first entities who are contributing to the corporate image of a
company. When changes are implied in the organisational structure, there is certain impact felt
on the performance of the organisation (Kondalkar, 2013). Performance in People Ltd. is a
company that provides consultancy services to customers. The changes proposed in above
sections when facilitate the performance, there will be significant improvements in customer
share. More profits will be earned by organisation and marketing strategies shall help in
acquiring more fame and publicity by the company (Hornstein, 2015).
Monitoring improvements in performance helps in understanding the practical impact of
concerned decisions. Moreover, whether organisation has been successful in achieving set goals
and objectives is also evaluated through performance monitoring. The difference that is obtained
when past performance reports of the company are compared with current reports depicts the
scope of improvements (Hayes, 2014). Innovation testing, more opportunities of improvements
and simultaneous impact over stakeholders are some of the outcomes which are assessed when
performance monitoring is enabled. Performance in People Ltd. has to inculcate effective
monitoring system to track and record improvements and then consider changes that occur to
performance.
Senior decision maker understands that their enterprise activity system strongly affects
the action of managers and workers.. Managers and researches have tested to therapeutic the
inadequacy of current performance measurement systems, some have concentrates on creating
financial measures which is more applicable. A balanced scorecard enables managers to see at
the business from four essential perspectives . 1)Financial perspective, 2) Customer perspective
3) Internal perspective, 4)Innovation and learning perspective .
(1) In financial perspective,these consists the question that hows do they look to
shareholders?. So statement that measures are not essential are incorrect for at least two reasons.
A well designed financial central system can actually in hence rather than inhibit an enterprises
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all quality management program. The declared connection between built operating performance
and financial success is actually quite thin and unsure.
(2) In Customer perspective, it includes a question that how do customers see them? . In
add-on to measure of period of time,quality and performances and service,industries must stay
irritable to the value of their items. But customers look cost as only one element of the cost they
obtain when dealing with their suppliers. Other supplier impelled costs from ordering,scheduling
transfer and paying for the materials;to receiving,analyse,managing and storing the materials; to
the trash,work on and devolution caused by the materials and schedule break from false
deliveries.
(3) In internal perspective, these include the question is that what must they excel at?. If
the detail system is unsusceptible,however, it can be the Achilles heel of performance
measurement. Managers at ECI are currently limited by the absence of such an operational
information system. This big concern is that the scorecard detail is not timely,reports are
generally a time period behind the industries routine management meetings and the measures
have yet to be connected for managers and workers at lower levels of the industry. The industry
is in progress of rising more responsive detail system to decre4ase this constraint.
(4) Innovation and learning perspective, These consists the question that can they
continue to improve and create value?. It needs that managers create updates within a particular
time period. In improvement program ,ensures of activity fault,lost deliveries and scrap were to
be reduced by a section of ten over the incoming four years. These kinds of mark express the part
for in loop updates in client satisfaction and internal business activity.
Monitoring:
The process in which quality of procedure is checked to minimise the errors is called monitoring.
Balanced Score Card technique is used by People in Performance Ltd. so that four types of
perspectives are acquired for monitoring i.e. : Financial Perspective: The residual income or profit is measured in per square foot. This
helps in determining whether PIP is financially stable or not. Internal Process Perspective: The action plan was intended to acquire better marketing
strategies. The service, product and inventory quality as well as management is
performed correctly or not is understood through internal process perspective.
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 Customer Perspective: Customer satisfaction is the prime responsibility and target of
Performance in People Ltd. The customer perspective helps in adopting and improving
strategies that help in enhancing customer satisfaction as well as retaining them. This
automatically adds up to strong market share.
 Learning and Growth Perspective: There are information systems applied in the
organisation for developing strong operations. This attribute of the Balanced Scorecard
depicts relevance of information systems and amount of employee satisfaction in the
company. Further, the need for training is also understood through this factor.
CONCLUSION
The above report has summarised certain key dimensions of a chosen small business
enterprise named Performance in People. It has been done in four fundamental parts with a
foremost section to investigate its business performance. On whose basis, the subsequent has
suggested some principle areas of improvement to their administrative bodies. After which, it has
together referred to revise the above determined plans and business objectives as a way of
corresponding to the proposed changes in the market. Lastly, an inspection is done to
acknowledge the impact of changed management on the undertaken business operations of the
elected establishment.
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About Us. 2017. [Online]. Available Through: <http://www.performanceinpeople.co.uk/about-
us/>. [Accessed on 2nd April, 2017].
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Through: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/291299/average-profit-of-smes-in-the-uk-by-
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