Success Factors for SMEs

This assignment delves into the critical factors that contribute to the success of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). It examines various academic articles and research papers that shed light on the challenges and opportunities faced by SMEs. Case studies of Purbeck Ice Cream Limited and Worthenshaws Ltd. are used to illustrate the practical application of these theoretical concepts. The assignment aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the key drivers of SME success, including entrepreneurial orientation, market dynamics, and internal management practices.

Small Business
Enterprise

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Profile of a selected small business enterprise......................................................................1
1.2 Comparative analysis of performance of business ...............................................................2
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Recommendation to overcome with company weakness .....................................................5
2.2 Approaches through which existing performance could be maintained and strengthened 6
2.3 New areas of expansion for a business ................................................................................7
LO 3 ................................................................................................................................................8
3.1 Assessment of current objectives and plans..........................................................................8
3.2 Revision of plan to incorporate changes...............................................................................8
3.3 Action plan for change implementation................................................................................9
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................11
4.1 investigating and reporting potential impacts on business..................................................11
4.2 Management of changes in the business.............................................................................11
4.3 Monitor improvement over a given timescale....................................................................12
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Small business enterprise is stated as a business process in which all the operations are
being carried out in a better way and in turn engage less costs and employees. The main motive
of this kind of business is to carry out the operations for getting financially secured. There are
some ways through the small business are being formulated and they are sole proprietorship,
partnerships and corporations. In this report, company being chosen is Worthenshaw which
mainly deals in sugar free frozen pudding which is just the substitute of Ice-Cream. This
company was established in 2010 (Worthenshaws ltd. 2013). There are various things which are
being discussed in the report like modifications being proposed in business process and this in
turn will identify the impacts which are being done.
LO 1
1.1 Profile of a selected small business enterprise
Worthenshaw is a small business enterprise which is working in the food retail company
supplying the frozen pudding in UK. It can be stated as a growing company at a rapid speed
relating to the food sector. Operations of company started in year 2010 and they observed
tremendous growth within the operating market. There are various number of employees in the
corporation which is lower than 50 and annual turnover of the business is less than 6 million
Euros.
1. Identification of size, structure, goals and objectives
Type of Business: This can be stated as an organisation which is mainly owned by Kirsty
Henshaw and is now privately owned. Operations are carried out in food sector and they are
mainly responsible for fulfilling the needs of customers in a better manner.
Structure: The structure of company is well defined and it is privately owned and thus,
managed by her. She is youngest one who receive the fund from the Dragon Den in 2010 and
thus, they invested around 65,000 Euros. Dragon Den who helped the business to grow who
mainly deals in providing finance to the innovative ideas and giving them start-ups.
Mission, Goals and Objectives: The main aim of the company is providing the best
class services and products whose taste should be unique in nature. This kind of organisation
which has adopted the effective approaches for providing they best taste of pudding to the
customers in order to maximise their satisfaction level. The funding which is being provided by
1

the Dragon Den needs to be used for providing the services in which after consumption,
customer should have positive feedback and perception towards the product and its brand. There
is a long term strategy which is being adopted for rendering quality products to customers and
thus, expand themselves.
Moreover, company has some strengths and weaknesses which are being possessed by
them which are being supported in order to make the appropriate decisions. They are being
determined as below:
Strengths Weaknesses
 There are high quality services and
products which are being sold like
healthy and full of nutrition.
 For customers who have this allergy
and are fond of ice cream can have this.
 Availability of this kind of product is
easy in the supermarkets and this can
be stated as their main strength (De
Silva and et. al., 2012).
 Goods are being packaged with quality
material along with high quality.
 There is not much variety within the
products and services provided by the
company.
 There are number of organisations
which have entered in the market with
similar kinds of products and some of
them have much more varieties.
 Resources which are available are
limited in nature.
1.2 Comparative analysis of performance of business
This company manufactures various number of food products for the customers in order
to fulfil their desires and needs. Better and effective quality products are being manufactured and
thus, provided to the customers in order to obtain high profit ratios. This company has the main
competitor which is Purbeck Ice Cream that mainly provides the similar kind of products but
also have the varieties of goods. Therefore, the performance level of organisation will be
evaluated along with the competitors in various modes.
Quality audit: Determination regarding the work and various kinds of responsibilities is
being done in order to monitor that the tasks and activities are completed or not. Various types of
food products and other food items which are being manufactured by the Worthenshaw for
2

keeping the customers for maintaining and monitoring the balance between nutrition and the
taste (Dickson and Weaver, 2011).
Financial report: In a company, this is a highly essential factor which creates and states
the value for them. This is mainly utilised by the company for evaluating the actual position
along with its competitor place. Financial report of company along with its competitors like
Purbeck Ice cream are being observed in this:
(Source: Worthenshaws Ltd, 2016)
As per the above balance sheet which is being mentioned, it is clear that company has
been able to attain mark of growth and success at the marketplace. Turnover of company is
about 4 million dollars and they are on path of expanding their business.
3

(Sources: Purbeck Ice Cream Limited, 2016)
As per the above report, it can be stated that this company has launched itself after
analysing the marketplace and comparing with their main competitor (Purbeck ice cream limited.
2017). There are variations which are being disabled by the company for engaging with the
customers and identifying the needs and wants of the customers in an effective manner.
Non-financial evaluation of Human resource
Year ending 2015 Worthanshaw's Ltd Purbeck Ice-Cream
Staff Turnover 9% 11%
Absentee rates 4 % 6 %
4

Percentage of job chance
which are offered by company
16% 13.00%
Perception of customers regarding service and product quality
Year ending 2017 Worthanshaw's Ltd Purbeck Ice-Cream
Production About 80% of the staff
members have given their
favour on having they better
quality of products and while
the rest of them are highly
confused about the factors.
There are about 70% of the
people who mainly show their
agreement on product quality
while the rest of them were not
satisfied with goods.
Manager performance Agreed, enhancement of rate is
being done about 5%
Agreed, as per the business,
offering are being given
according to the offerings.
Marketing Presence of products which are
diversified for the buyers who
are ready to have the ice cream
and meals.
The goods which are being
provided are the diary one and
now they want to expand the
business in more areas.
LO 2
2.1 Recommendation to overcome with company weakness
It is highly essential for the company to overcoming the weaknesses in order to have the
best performance of the employees and thus expected outcomes can be attained. There are n
umber of ways by which an organisation can reduce the limitations which are described as
below:
Technological Advancement: This can be stated as one of the effective and best approaches
which can be utilised for countering the limitations of technology within the company. It is
highly essential for the company to adopt the latest technology in order to carry out the
5

operations in effective and better manner (Fassin, Van Rossem and Buelens, 2011). This will in
turn help in attaining the business level of effectively and efficiency.
Training and development: Staff members of the company has diverted their focus on
determining the experience of customers. Thus, it becomes important for the business process for
providing the platform of opportunities in order to improve the skills and knowledge for
operating the functions. This kind of feature will mainly help in equipping the the process of
business for rendering out the products and services to the customers.
Marketing strategy: This can be stated as an essential tool which provide assistance to the
business in order to mark up the presence within the market place. Implementation of marketing
tools can be done in order to create the awareness regarding the job. Help can be taken form the
marketing tools by the company for enhancing up the level of sales volume of the business
process.
Financial assistance: Carrying out the tasks and objectives of the company is an essential duty
and that can be done with allocating and utilising the resources in optimum manner. Justification
can be done of the same as they are important to carry out the day to day tasks ( Forsman, 2011).
Help is being provided by the financial resources for adoption of latest technologies along with
the recruitment for the company.
2.2 Approaches through which existing performance could be maintained and strengthened
It is highly essential for maintaining the certain level of consistency within the tasks and
objectives in order to grab more number of customers within the company. Thus, there are some
measures which are being adopted for measuring out the current level of performance along with
the enhancing up the same for long period of time. There are some approaches which are being
described below:
 Major approach can b stated as conducting the market research for the company. This in
turn will help in determining the latest trends along with the desires and preference of the
people which can lead to the better provisions of the products and services within the
market place.
 Obtaining the feedbacks from customers and working on them is another essential factor
(Gunasekaran, Rai and Griffin, 2011). This will help in bringing out the necessary
changes along with variations within the products so that upcoming shortcomings can be
addressed.
6

 There are some of the efforts which are continuous in nature and they should be carried
out by the business for strengthening and motivating the employees in order to give the
better services to the customers.
 Digitalisation should be adopted by the company within the operations so that trend can
be matched. Business who remains up to date are able to have the better revenues within
the marketplace and thus can enhance the market awareness.
 It is highly essential for the company to form the right and suitable structure of
organisation in order define the transparency among the authority and subordinate
relationships and due to that there will be less chances of conflicts arising and bringing
the stability among the workplace and operations of the company.
 Reward programme is an effective approach so that efforts of the staff members can be
appreciated and this in turn will help to motivate and boost the morale level for obtaining
the high performance (Hansen and Hamilton, 2011).
2.3 New areas of expansion for a business
This has been observed that the Worthenshaw company is running their operations within
the marketplace and thus possess ideal good return in the form of sales revenue. The very next
step can be growing and expanding up the business and its operations as well in order to avail the
benefits like raise of goodwill and finance. This kind of company can either apply penetration or
they can venture the diversification of products in order to grab the opportunities within the
marketplace and attain success. There are areas in which the small business can be expanded:
Loans or Finance: This can be stated as another crucial factor when the company is looking for
expanding up its business within they marketplace. Help is being provided from the banks or the
investors for expanding up their business along with its operations so that more number of
customers can be acquired for having better revenues.
Amalgamation: In this kind of approach, operations of the business are being expanded for the
integration of the two brands. Efforts of the small business can be integrated with a firm of
effective goodwill in order to secure the more revenue through the business. While acquiring this
kind of expansion strategy, financial along with intellectual capital can be applied for attaining
the aims and objectives of the company (Hilmersson, 2014).
New Segment development: Company can be ventured into the new segment for testing out
their luck. Conducting the market research is highly essential factor for the company in order to
7

make footsteps into untested domain. Help is being provided for identifying the platform of
opportunities which lies in the market. For a medium size business the major diversification can
be stated as opening up of another branches within the town and another city. Expansion strategy
can be formulated and thus the needs can be fulfilled within the opening market. Brand name is
being needed in which the more benefits regrading the finance are being acquired.
LO 3
3.1 Assessment of current objectives and plans
It is highly essential for a company to monitor their business objectives on regular basis
of time so that it can be ensured that they are the most genuine and and suitable for business
situations. There are some objectives of the company which must be assessed in order to
influence them as per the needs and wants of the customers.
Business objective: This is the main objective of company who has been dealing in the
food sector for satisfying the the customers in better and effective manner. There are certain
needs of the customers which needs to be fulfilled so that the business operations can be
conducted in positive manner (Islam and et. al., 2011). Objective of the company should be
much more positive and customer oriented which can directly lead to provide the high
performance by the employees. The major drawback of this kind of approach is there is lesser
inclination of graph regarding the profit which sometime can become a barrier for the enterprise
Process: This can be defined as process of conducting the operations in better and smooth
manner. This can also be referred to as the plan in which company wishes to fulfil the objectives
of company. There is no description given which is clear regarding the process which in turn can
act sometimes as a major limitation for the company. There is a structure which is highly
organised for rendering out the high quality services to the people as this can reduce the chances
of having confusion and conflicts within the company.
Performance Indicators: This is highly essential for the business process for applying the
performance of business indicators for the major discrepancies are determined. There is a tool
which is being applied by the company and that is observation. The main aim is to regulate the
performance and behaviour of employees in order to address the shortcomings.
8

3.2 Revision of plan to incorporate changes
It is highly essential to have the revision of plans which are being formulated by the
company so that it can be matched with the situations within the market. In simple words, it
should be ensured that the major objectives of the firm is being attained. In order to formulate
the right type of plan, it is needed to have genuine data for the market circumstances along with
the knowledge of the vision of company. Having the proper knowledge certainly helps in
formulating up of effective objectives in the best possible manner. In order to identify the
benefits of the plans and policies which are being adopted by the competitor company,
competitive analysis can be carried out (Jasra and et. al., 2012).
These type of situation mainly helps business to adopt the appropriate plans in order to
carry out the operations within the market along with cooperating with the dynamic nature of
marketplace. Analysation of the current position is being done of obtaining the relevant
practices which are adopted and right set of decisions are being taken. There is a process which
directly leads to the revision of business plan and they are mentioned below:
Revision of business objectives:
 Increase in the market share by 20%
 Attain efficiency in business operations
 Adopt digitalisation in business related functions.
There is a crucial element and that is revision of business objectives and thus are much more
comparatively and aggressive as compared to the previous business objectives. The main focus is
on providing the quality services and products which are being taken into consideration for
reputation.
Plan: This kind of plan is being formulated and thus tactics of marketing is being adopted
which in turn enhances the reach of the company along with the expanding sales of volume
numbers. This will make the company much more active on various digital platforms for the
current operating environment.
Allocation of resources: There are some of the resources which are being allocated and
they are different from the functions and practices which are being carried out within company.
For the marketing purpose, there are more resources which are being allocated within the
company.
9

3.3 Action plan for change implementation
This type of action plan which also works out as measure for monitoring and controlling
the activities of staff members who are working in an organisation.
Objectives Tasks Success Criteria Time frame Resources
Development of
Marketing
strategy
By the
classification of
various tools and
technique,
implementation
can be done of
them within
competitor.
Making up of
appropriate
marketing
strategy which are
being needed of a
company.
20 Days Marketing team
will carry out the
tasks along with
research tools.
Technology
Implementation
In this task,
utilisation of
technology is
being done in best
possible manner
in order to
enhance the
efficiency.
There is desired
level of efficiency
within the
operations and
that is stated as
success criteria.
45 days Monitoring up of
operations by the
manager which
can be applied for
smoothly
conduction.
Market research For analysing and
determining the
trends within the
market. Along
with this, taste
and preferences
of the customers
will also be
identified.
Results of the
market research
which are being
carried out for
genuine
collection (Olszak
and Ziemba,
2012).
15 Days There is a team of
3 professional
people who are
being employed
for the market
research.
10

Acquire finances There are various
sources which
needs to be
determined for
benefits and
drawbacks for
final decision
making.
Acquisition of
adequate finance.
45 days Manager will be
allocated for
determining the
mots suitable
source of finance.
LO 4
4.1 investigating and reporting potential impacts on business
There are some of the recent changes which are being observed and introduced within the
Worthenshaw who are bound for bringing out the positive outcomes for the company. There are
some of the impacts of modifications within the company for ascertaining and they are as
follows:
Finance: This is one of the most essential sector of the company as it makes sure that the
activities of the business are being sustained and that too for a long period of time. Help is being
taken from the contemporary resources like the venture capitalists and loan from the banks
instead of depending on the revenue attained by the company (Philip, 2011). There are some of
the changes which are being ascertained for more of the finance and equal amount of liabilities.
Workload: There will be an impact on the workload of the employees. Introduction of the
technology will provide help to the business so that less dependent should be there on human
efforts for the operations. There will be chances of less errors and more efficiency that is being
performed by the employees.
Culture of an organisation: There are some of the recent changes which will impact on the
culture of the company. This in turn disrupts the manner in which the work is being carried
within organisation.
4.2 Management of changes in the business
There are various kind of stages which are being applied within the model and they are
described below:
11

Unfreeze: This means plans to educate workers about the need of progress inside the
association. It is essential for them to be educated about the change which is going to happen
inside big business. It is the obligation gave to the administrator to manage workers through the
most troublesome stage during the time spent change (Zortea-Johnston, Darroch and Matear,
2012).
Change: There are various kind of steps which are being followed within the
organisation. There are some of the digital measures which are being taken along with the
process of expansion which is implemented by the company. There are some of the actions and
the efforts of the company in order to introduce the changes in best effective manner.
Freeze: This mainly aims for the inculcate stability within the life of employees. It is
highly essential for the firm and employees to be provided with the time in order to make them
enable for transforming in right manner and thus adopt the new kind of circumstances of
business (Soininen and et. al., 2012).
4.3 Monitor improvement over a given timescale
Goals Time period Review
One stop content 2017 Manager of the Worthenshaw Ltd.
Holding limited with they use of many
kind of tools for enhancing them in better
manner which can boost the workers
morale.
To increase their business
operation organisation.
2017 In order to build up the maximum profit,
expansion of business operations and
functions by offering goods and services.
In order to enhance the buyers which is
highly essential.
Facilities or services 2017 There are respective company for
improving the quality of product which
are being offered to the customers
(Williams and Schaefer, 2013). In order to
maintain the long term relations which
12

may gain the productivity.
Assume aid by many number
of customer
2017 In order to obtain better image within the
marketplace, Worthenshaw utilises this
kind of technique for attracting large
number of customers.
Profit and loss account of Worthenshaw's Ltd
For the year ended 31st March 2016
Particular 2016 $ 2017 $
Net profit 70 80
Cost of revenues 40 25
Gross profit 50 50
Operating expenses 20 15
Income from operations 25 20
Other interest expenses 30 50
Income before provision taxes 40 50
Provision from income taxes 20 35
Net income 45 45
13

CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that there are number of opportunities which
are being provided to an unemployed person in a systematic manner by the small business
enterprise. In addition, SWOT Analysis is highly essential for the customers as in this clients
mainly understood the position of the company and the image within marketplace. For managing
the proposed changes, manager of the organisation can implement effective process which are
highly beneficial for all the variations at workplace.
14

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
De Silva, D. G. and et. al., 2012. Disadvantaged Business Enterprise goals in government
procurement contracting: an analysis of bidding behavior and costs. International
Journal of Industrial Organization. 30(4). pp.377-388.
Dickson, P. H. and Weaver, K. M., 2011. Institutional Readiness and Small to Medium‐Sized
Enterprise Alliance Formation. Journal of Small Business Management. 49(1). pp.126-
148.
Fassin, Y., Van Rossem, A. and Buelens, M., 2011. Small-business owner-managers’
perceptions of business ethics and CSR-related concepts. Journal of Business
ethics. 98(3). pp.425-453.
Forsman, H., 2011. Innovation capacity and innovation development in small enterprises. A
comparison between the manufacturing and service sectors. Research Policy. 40(5).
pp.739-750.
Gunasekaran, A., Rai, B. K. and Griffin, M., 2011. Resilience and competitiveness of small and
medium size enterprises: an empirical research. International journal of production
research. 49(18). pp.5489-5509.
Hansen, B. and Hamilton, R. T., 2011. Factors distinguishing small firm growers and non-
growers. International small business journal. 29(3). pp.278-294.
Hilmersson, M., 2014. Small and medium-sized enterprise internationalisation strategy and
performance in times of market turbulence. International Small Business Journal. 32(4).
pp.386-400.
Islam, M. A. and et. al., 2011. Effect of entrepreneur and firm characteristics on the business
success of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh. International Journal of
Business and Management. 6(3). p.289.
Jasra, J. M. and et. al., 2012. Determinants of business success of small and medium enterprises.
Olszak, C. M. and Ziemba, E., 2012. Critical success factors for implementing business
intelligence systems in small and medium enterprises on the example of upper Silesia,
Poland. Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management. 7(12).
pp.129-150.
Philip, M., 2011. Factors affecting business success of small & medium enterprises
(SMEs). Amity Global Business Review. 6(1). pp.118-136.
Soininen, J. and et. al., 2012. Entrepreneurial orientation: Growth and profitability of Finnish
small-and medium-sized enterprises. International Journal of Production
Economics. 140(2). pp.614-621.
Williams, S. and Schaefer, A., 2013. Small and medium‐sized enterprises and sustainability:
Managers' values and engagement with environmental and climate change
issues. Business Strategy and the Environment. 22(3). pp.173-186.
Zortea-Johnston, E., Darroch, J. and Matear, S., 2012. Business orientations and innovation in
small and medium sized enterprises. International Entrepreneurship and Management
Journal. 8(2). pp.145-164.
Online
Purbeck ice cream limited. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/05474647/filing-history>.
15

Worthenshaws ltd. 2013. [Online]. Available through:
<https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06973781/filing-history>.
16