Investigation of Small and Medium Size Business Implications of COVID-19 in UK

Business Research
Project
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TITLE
The research is to investigate about the take of Small and Medium Size business upon the
implication of COVID-19 in United Kingdom.
SUMMARY
Chapter 1: Introduction: The title and the purpose of the research project is being
introduced along with the general discussion of the topic.
Chapter 2: Literature Review: in this chapter, previously published articles or journals are
being refereed in order to have deeper understanding about the project.
Chapter 3: Research Methodology: Here, the method and other related components of
conducting a research is being underlined with a combination of research onion.
Chapter 4: Findings and Research: In this chapter, the data and information is being
analysed and their results are being founded in relation to the relevance of project.
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations: This is the last chapter of the project where
the whole report is being summarized or concluded with what all mentioned in report along
with certain recommendations that can be utilised for further research.
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Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
With effect to Pandemic called COVID-19, the whole production units become zero
as there was a whole lockdown in the whole world including UK. Most of the losses were on
the small and medium scale industries which run at a small scale and also earns quite low
margins of profits. This small and medium scale organization contributes a lot to the growth
of UK economy. For reference purpose this report has taken an example of a small scale
company, CafePod Coffee Co. The company is originated in UK. CafePod Coffee engages in
the business of producing the coffee for the people who loves drinking it. They always try to
produce new and adventurous variety of coffee for the customers. This research is on the
impact of COVID-19 upon the operations and activities of CafePod Coffee and the measures
the company took after COVID-19 to make their business operations and working back on
track (Belghitar, Moro and Radic, 2020). The investigation is about the steps or the decision a
small or medium scale industry must take to deal correctly with the after COVID-19
situation. The present report comprises of a research upon the title “Investigation about the
take of Small and Medium Size business upon the implication of COVID-19 in United
Kingdom”. For this a research has utilized both primary as well as secondary sources of data
in a form of questionnaire, previously published journals, articles as well as other published
material which all are relevant to the report. Further, from the whole analysis findings and
conclusions are being made with respect to the area of research and also certain
recommendations are mentioned which would help upcoming researchers to assist in their
report or can be considered for the effective preparation of research in related field for small
and medium enterprises.
AIM
The aim of this investigation is to determine the actions which small scale companies should
adopt to make their business back like it was before COVID-19.
RESEARCH PROBLEM
The small and medium scale companies are the great contribution for the success of UK
economy. They have helped in increasing the government tax, increase in technology,
employability, GDP and much more. But right after the COVID-19 it has become a challenge
for these companies to survive as their production went to zero during the lockdown. This has
highly impacted the operations of Small and Medium Scale companies (Belghitar, Moro and
Radic, 2020).
OBJECTIVES
The objective for the research is as follows:
• To identify the immediate actions or steps for small and medium scale organization so
their business performance can get back at the track.
• To find out the major challenges which these SME’s are facing due to COVID-19 in
UK.
• To identify the possible external market which can cause the threat and the
opportunities which are faced by SME’s along with the government policies to make
these businesses a sustainable one.
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RESEARCH QUESTIONS
• What can be the actions or steps which SME’s should take to face the challenge of
COVID-19 so that they can make the operations of business back as earlier?
• What can be the major challenges of SME’s due to COVID-19 in UK?
• What can be the possible threats and opportunities of SME’s along with the
government policies to make the business sustain in the market.
CHAPTER 2: Literature Review
Literature Review is the narrative views or the opinions of the writer and author about a
particular topic. Through the literature review the view points of the author is consider and
then an analysis is made. The review helped us in knowing the deep insights about the topic
so that it can be critically analyzed. From which includes in literature review are books,
articles, newspapers, blogs and much more. It provides the synopsis about the topic and also
about the take of author on topic. Through the collection of different types of literature
review the deeper analyses can be made as the investigator has more sources for collection of
data (Fabeil, Pazim and Langgat, 2020).
Covid-19 and its impact on SMEs
According to Ferdaus, (2020), as the SME’s have the biggest challenge to survive in
this COVID-19 scenario, they can survive through properly deep analyses of the situation.
Through the deep analyses an insight can be developed by the organization which can
provide the worst capable case or scenario that can take place. The deep and proper analyses
of the situation or scenario will help the organization to get them prepare for the worst
possible loss they can suffer and accordingly they can also make their strategies. When an
organization is known about their worst possible situation, they will also develop the insights
about how they can come out from these scenarios. All these analyses and insights are the
part of replanning, reorganizing and modelling of the process. Apart from this, through these
deep insights the company can also access the business impacts. The forecast about the
demand and cashflow should also be developed by the organization. This will help them in
knowing about the profits and cash they will be able to get in a particular time period so that
accordingly the sources can be arranged. This will help in saving the cost which may get
incurred from getting the more resources without any analyses. The organization can also
cancel the non-essentials costs. This can be done through the identification of the areas of
cost reduction levers. If the organization is facing the problem of funds and they must apply
for government funding. The reason to which why an organization must apply for
government funds because these funds are safe, the rate of interest will be also low as
compared with the interest of private’s fund givers, the extension period for paying up the
amount can be provided in government funding, apart from this also the government provides
some rebates, concessions and much more to these SME’s. Meanwhile, the organization
should also do a research upon the customers needs and wants. Due to that analyses the
company should get to know about the current needs which are running among the customers
so that the company can provide the products and services accordingly. This will help them in
gaining an increase in their cash flows. When it comes to handling the workforce, the
organization must try to engage their employees at the remote areas of work so that they can
working. The organization also must handle this problem by taking the help from government
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