Analysis of Talon Outdoor: Small Business Organisation Performance

This report provides a detailed analysis of Talon Outdoor, a small business operating in the media and communication sector. It begins with an introduction to Talon Outdoor, highlighting its strengths such as innovation, strong employee base, and financial success, while also identifying weaknesses li...Read More

Running head: SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATION
Unit 33: Small Business Organisation
Student’s name:
Name of the university:
Author’s name:

1
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Providing a profile of Talon Outdoor, a small business organisation, through recognising its
strengths and weaknesses................................................................................................................2
1.2 Carrying out of supporting analysis using comparative factors of performance of the small
business............................................................................................................................................4
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................7
2.1 Recommending appropriate actions with justification to get rid of the weaknesses.................7
2.2 Reviewing the methods in which performance could be strengthened and maintained............9
2.3 Recommending justification in new areas in which the small business can expand...............10
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................11
3.1 Producing a review of existing business goals, objectives and plans......................................11
3.2 Revising business plans in order to incorporate proper changes.............................................13
3.3 Preparing a valid action plan in order to implement the proposed alterations........................14
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................15
4.1 Influence of the proposed changes that would be on the small business and its employees...15
4.2 Planning of the changes procedure to be managed in the business.........................................16
4.3 Monitoring improvements of business performance over a given timescale..........................17
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................19
Reference List................................................................................................................................20

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Introduction
This study sheds light on various aspects of a small business enterprise and main focus of
this study will be on process involved in the change management that can review and improve
the situation and performance of small business. The scope and criterion of small business can
differ with the country, however, in the UK; small business enterprise has to have less than 250
employees. During 2013-2014, the central government of the UK spent £11.4 billion on the
small business enterprise in order to improve the condition of them. The main aim of this study is
to highlight the various aspects of small business development. In order to continue this study, I
have chosen Talon Outdoor, a small business organisation that works in media and
communication sector. The organisation has made a short-term contract to report about the
development of this small business.
Task 1
1.1 Providing a profile of Talon Outdoor, a small business organisation, through
recognising its strengths and weaknesses
Talon Outdoor is an out-of-home media agency and Richard Simkins is the Innovation
Head of the organisation. Talon Outdoor loves innovation in work and the organisation devises
new and original ways to present advertising (Talonoutdoor.com 2017). This organisation has
clients in the UK based and the global sector as well. Talon Outdoor was established in the year
of 2007 and CEO of the organisation is Eric Newnham. Talon Outdoor has its expertise in
planning, account management, strategy, insight, investment management and innovation.
Currently, Talon Outdoor has 85 employees and two-thirds of the employees are aged fewer than

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34. The male and female ratio of the employees is 35:65 and it has its office in London. The
main interesting part of this job is that the job role changes to the employees when the
technology changes along with the social changes. The CEO of the small business has to work
various types of works and the staffs of the business are focused. Employees of the small
business are dedicated towards the development and learning. The organisation provides early
leaves on Fridays and this small business provides flexible working in order to make a work-life
balance for the employees. Talon Outdoor raised £68,000 for the business and the current
revenue of the organisation £157 million.
Strengths
 Talon Outdoor has high commercial success in the innovation of the business and meets
its revenue.
 Talon Outdoor has strong employees based as the most of the employees here are
satisfied with their works and they are skilled, aimed and enthusiast people.
 This small business can raise investment and capital from the market in order to carry out
their projects and business objectives.
 Innovation is their strengths and they take help of the latest technologies. Talon Outdoor
provides best customer services. The company management has belief in their works and
this tends to make trust and credibility in their output.
 This company has the democratic approach of leadership from the CEO and business
head. They make a committee in order to take any decision. As they are in a media
agency, the company is highly targeted to reach the selected audiences through their
works.

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Weaknesses
 Talon Outdoor has only one office in London, the firm is operating on the narrow level as
this has no other office in anywhere.
 Top management is too friendly with the employees and they have a little control over its
employees.
 The organisation has no control over the readers’ or audiences’ perception of the
advertisements. The customers’ of this business are limited and they are just the famous
organisations in the market.
 In the UK, there are several media agencies that work in this out-of-home media
communication. Therefore, tough competition in the market has its weakness.
 The management of the business has lacked in the high in-depth analysis that sometimes
requires in the lean season of the business.
1.2 Carrying out of supporting analysis using comparative factors of performance of the
small business
In the last few years, the business growth of this small business is outstanding and it was
ranked as a 6th best small business in Sunday Times in the whole of the UK. The performance of
the business has been better than most of the media agencies in the UK. As there are many other
media agencies in the UK, customer satisfaction and innovation have been the best for the
organisation. Talon Outdoor has been facing the continuous competition from the existing
companies in the UK. In the UK, the cost of the media communication has been going through a
change. The media-communication sector is an attractive segment and it does not attach with the
capital investment with open-wide opportunity. In this industry, the threat of new entrant is

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moderate and technology has been changing in this sector rapidly with the advancement of
digital innovation. The performance measurement of the business can be understood with the
Key Performance Indicator without KPI, it would get difficult to realise the business goals and
development of small business performance (Longenecker et al. 2013). In order to develop the
KPI, Talon Outdoor keeps account of the daily number of orders and daily volume of the orders.
Moreover, the CEO tries to keep the account with calculating the time required to complete a
quote and the CEO also keep track of the actual date of shipping. As suggested by Schaper et al.
(2014), a small business can develop a customer satisfaction scorecard to check the customers'
feedback. This process is easy after the order is completed, the customers can provide a rating to
the organisation. Talon Outdoor calculates the percentage of business with existing customers
and the process of being maintained that monthly basis.
In addition, cash flow is another measurement to analyse the performance of the
business. Evaluating the financial activities through small business’ income and business
expenses can help in effective budget maintenance.
Sales receipts £50,00,000
Payments for products £25,00,000
Payment for operations £20,00,000
Interest payment £1,00,000
Taxes £2,27,500
Net cash flow from Operating activities £3,27,500
Investing activities
Purchase of new fixed assets £21,00,000

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Interest received £50,000
Net cash flow from investing activities £20,50,000
Financing activities
Short-term debt £7,00,000
Long-term debt £11,00,000
Net cash flow from financing activities £19,00,000
Net increase or decrease in cash £6,22,500
Cash at the beginning of the year £1,00,000
Cash at the end of the year £7,22,500
Table 1: Cash flow of the small business
(Source: Self-develop)
Balance scorecard comprises four indicators of the performance through a small
business can measure the performance, financial, customer, internal process and innovative and
learning aspects (Hatten 2015).
Financial indicators High profitability and liquidity ratio that shows
that the small business has strong financial
hold
Customer indicators The customer base is limited; however, these
clients of the small business are famous and
large organisations.
The organisation meets the target on time and
it has reliable position in market with high

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customer satisfaction service
Internal process Efficient working process
Staff turnover rate is low of the small business
and the ratio of male and female ratio shows
female employees are larger in numbers.
The organisation follows democratic leadership
style
Innovation and learning aspects Talon Outdoor follows innovation
They use latest technologies
They use employees’ development
programmes
Table 2: Balance scorecard of small business
(Source: Self-develop)
Task 2
2.1 Recommending appropriate actions with justification to get rid of the weaknesses
Talon Outdoor has been in the market since 2007 and it is a fast growing company.
However, they need investment from the market in order to expand its operation. However, it has
its weaknesses mainly on the customers' or audiences' perceptions. The competition is another
weakness of the organisation as there are many other media agencies are there.
Extension of the organisation:

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Talon Outdoor operates mainly in the London and other UK based cities. However, it has
only one office in London and the authority has to take initiatives to open a few offices apart
from London in order to increase the client base. The company can focus on expanding the client
base by offering the services to the global market also. This small business focuses only large
organisation, however, they can focus small organisations as clients to increase the market share.
Changing of the leadership styles:
The employees of the organisations are skilled and enthusiast. However, leaders need to
control the employees as flexibility can create laziness among employees. The CEO and
Business Head follow democratic leadership styles, however, they can follow authoritative
leadership style to guide the employees and bring the best from them. As authoritarian leadership
helps to control the employees and it makes the organisation depends on leaders to take a
decision (Storey 2016). In order to teach the employees about new technologies and make them
experienced, authoritarian leadership will work.
Follow the trends of the market:
This small business faces issue as the taste of the audiences' changes with the time as it
works on media and communication. They make hoardings and out-of-home advertisements.
They need to be aware of the market trend and advertisement innovation can work for the
organisation to flourish. Market research and audiences' perception research are necessary for
Talon Outdoor in order to make a strong foothold in the market.
Overshadow the competitors:

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Talon Outdoor needs to know the competitors first and their USP (Unique Selling
Proposition). They can do marketing to reach to the clients and update the brand image. Strong
image and strong contents on advertisements with latest technologies can help this small
business to overshadow the competitors. It is also needed to reach the clients on time before the
clients can choose another company for advertising. Strong innovative advertisements campaign
ideas can help this small business to grab more clients (Curran and Storey 2016). In this respect,
managing finance within the organisation is needed that can help a firm to manage resources.
2.2 Reviewing the methods in which performance could be strengthened and maintained
Talon Outdoor has a strong hold in the market; however, it has its weaknesses and
strengths. Existing performance of the business is doing better and it has revenue of 156 million
pounds. Employees' retention is strong and they have motivated also.
Managerial concern to maintain strong relationship with stakeholders
Small business needs to make an effective stakeholder relationship in order to improve
the operation and performance. The stakeholders of Talon Outdoor are the clients, employees,
suppliers and technological agencies. It would enhance the productivity of the organisation and
the communication process of the organisation would be enhanced. Effective mechanism with
the stakeholders can lead to the higher sales and good performance in the future.
Strategic planning to review the performance of the employees
Talon Outdoor has 85 employees at present and they are skilled and innovative.
Moreover, the perfect human resource management strategy can help them to grow and
experience. The CEO of the organisation needs to identify the gap between the set target and the

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actual results of the performance. The employees are skilled; however, they need special training
to gather the experience.
New opportunity and development for human resources
In order to make strengthened of the performance of the organisation and employees,
retaining the existing skilled employees are needed. Managing human resource is the important
and democratic approach of the leaders can lead the organisation to have best employees (Wellin
2016). The management of Talon Outdoor needs to review the existing performance of the
employees by reviewing the annual reports and financial statements.
 Appropriate recording of tasks doing of the employees is needed
 Regular monitoring process is needed by management
 Focus on development opportunity and strategic planning
 Maintain client relationship
 Recognising the different ways of maintaining effective share of market position
 Provide training to the employees
Technology and innovation
Talon Outdoor has always followed the technique of innovation and technology to set the
new trend. Moreover, retain and enhance the existing performance, innovation and best
technologies will be helpful. In case, the employees face any issues, they can opt to take help
from the management. Technology and innovation can be improved by providing better training
to the employees.

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2.3 Recommending justification in new areas in which the small business can expand
There is scope for the expansion of business for Talon Outdoor and new opportunities for
business can bring the extra profit for the business. As it is a small organisation, expansion f the
business can bring the extra revenue and the business will need extra employees to work in the
fields. Talon Outdoor is in out-of-home media advertising service Providers Company. Talon
Outdoor has exception growth plan and the organisation wants to provide exceptional client
services, strategic expertise and independent services.
Talon Outdoor organisation can expand its business to PR (Public Relation) services. Talon
Outdoor needs to promote a company or an individual through editorial coverage and it is
opposed to as out-of-home advertising. Expansion in PR needs creativity from the employees
and these kinds of works will be published in websites, magazines and newspapers. However, as
stated by Carraher and Paridon (2015), advertising and PR media do the same kinds of jobs to
promote the clients, however, the paths are different. In expanding the business in PR, Talon
Outdoor needs to write a press release, speech writing of clients, write pitches and create special
events.
Talon Outdoor can expand the business in market research as well as the market analysts
do. Doing market research for any client needs market information, reviews, surveys, and
making a link with marketers, consumers and public. In market research, the employees of Talon
Outdoor need to understand the behaviour and perception of the customers through campaigns
and calls. Talon Outdoor can use Evaluating Results in Integrated Campaigns (ERIC) system to
focus on customers' perception with using the technologies.

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Task 3
3.1 Producing a review of existing business goals, objectives and plans
Talon Outdoor’s mission statement
The mission statement of the small business Talon Outdoor is to provide effective and
innovative out-of-home media advertising that help the clients to grow their businesses and
realise their marketing goals
Vision of Talon’s Outdoor
Delivering results-oriented out-of-home media advertising that enhances the clients'
awareness in the market and improves the sales as well
Objectives of Talon’s Outdoor
 To serve the clients with commitment that is deeply integrated the corporate culture of
Talon Outdoor
 To design and developing training packages for the employees for their experiences
 To be the number one out-of-door media advertising agency in the UK with continuous
innovation
 To have business growth and sustainable development in a few near locations
Entire strategic planning of the small business lies in the objectives and Talon Outdoor
states that it wants to develop a training package for the employees and expand the business in
new locations. Effective objectives help an organisation to determine the strategic goals and meet
the mission and vision of the organisation (Van Dooren et al. 2015).

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Business plan
In a year, Talon Outdoor reviews the performance of the employees twice. During that
time, the organisation sets SMART objectives for the employees. The objectives are set in the
month of December and July. The business plan of the organisation Talon Outdoor selects a
design team that consider the key players for the organisation. The management of the
organisation sets the functions of the organisation that needs to be performed by the employees.
After that, the CEO of the organisation develop a list of tasks and functions for the employees to
perform for the next six months. As Talon Outdoor follows the flat organisational structure, the
reporting and position are similar to the employees.
3.2 Revising business plans in order to incorporate proper changes
Talon Outdoor organisation has its business plan; however, it needs a few changes in
order to achieve sustainable growth. Talon Outdoor has not focused on developing the target
clients and the target level of clients are substantially low. Talon Outdoor has flexible
management and it follows democratic leadership style. The organisation has a plan to expand
the business in a few locations across the UK in the out-of-home media advertising. However, it
does not have any plan to enter new types of market. Talon Outdoor can establish a new business
presence in global terms. It is needed to carry out the promotional activities in order to make it
famous in the market.
Developing client-based:
Talon Outdoor needs to develop the clients as it has some selected clients. In order to
expand its business, a strong customer-base is necessary. In media agency business, there are

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pick and lean seasons; organisations develop the client base in order to survive in the market
(Seuring and Gold 2013).
Entre new market:
Talon Outdoor can set its objective to expand the business in the new market apart from
out-of-home media advertising. However, they could expand its business into PR and market
analysts.
Global expansion:
Talon Outdoor has a plan to expand the business in near locations; however, in order to
catch the international market, global expansion is necessary. In the global market, media agency
business can provide lucrative growth to the company.
Profitability analysis:
In the objective section of the business, the small business has not set any profit
percentage to achieve. However, it is needed for an organisation to have a goal in profitability.
Talon Outdoor can set a target of increasing 5% profitability by the end of 2019.
3.3 Preparing a valid action plan in order to implement the proposed alterations
Market analysis:
Talon Outdoor is planning to expand the business in near locations and in a global
perspective as well. In this regard, this small business needs to have a proper idea about the
media market. The market analysis of this small business will be of two types, clients who are

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within the UK and the clients who are from other countries. The market analysis of Talon
Outdoor makes them realise the changes that they need to implement.
Identification of market segment
After the market analysis, the organisations need to understand the market segments
(Buckingham and Goodall 2015). Talon Outdoor can segregate the market into four categories,
geographic, demographic, behavioural and psychographic. In this respect, the target market of
Talon Outdoor is different as they have to choose the client for their business. This small
business can choose the geographic segmentation as the clients in the UK can help the business
to grow. Moreover, in demographic segmentation, the upper-class clients that have global
presence can help this small business to grow.
Identification of change activities:
The change activities need to bring in financial accounting in order to find out the
investing and profitability. Moreover, the marketing strategy of the organisation needs changes
in order to grab new clients in the UK and in the global areas. The major changes are to expand
business in a new sector where the small business can invest.
Monitor the change process
The changes can be brought through advertise the goals to the employees and emphasise
the benefits of the employees as well (Yusuf et al. 2014). Moreover, in order to be a large
organisation, the management needs to make the employees trained and the budget of the small
business needs some changes. Listen to the employees in all level as it is necessary to achieve the
needed changes. The monitoring process is necessary to look the changing phases are

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successfully executed. Appropriate monitoring can be done through review, feedback and Key
Performance Indicator (KPI).
Task 4
4.1 Influence of the proposed changes that would be on the small business and its
employees
Small business Talon Outdoor needs to restructure the organisation process if it follows
the changes. The business is going to expand in more than one branch and it could expand
globally. Therefore, the budget structure and number of employees will increase. The business
needs to find out the investment through which they can thrive. The structure of the organisation
follows ‘flat structure’, now it has to follow vertical structure as the business is now expanding.
The CEO and Business Head will be on the top and leadership style will shift from democratic to
authoritarian. Vertically structure small business has uniform standards and this kind of
organisation can designate tasks well (Blackburn et al. 2013). Talon Outdoor will make some
separate departments that will have well-defined roles and responsibilities. HR, finances,
technical and marketing will be some of the departments.
While going to change the business structure, the organisation needs to follow the new
stakeholders. The new stakeholders must be informed about the organisational culture and
partnership process. Extension of the new target market will create pressure on the employees
and the management will provide training to the employees. Employees must learn how to cope
with a large number of employees and in case the organisation shifts to the other countries, the

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employees need to manage the culture. The employees should communicate with the employees
and the multi-culture team helps the organisation to grow.
The flexible working structure will be lessened, the employees have to learn in working
on the tight schedule and the organisational working process may go complex as well (Hearns-
Branaman 2017). The employees will have more responsibility; mainly the finance department
needs to take extra pressure in order to support the steady growth.
4.2 Planning of the changes procedure to be managed in the business
Talon Outdoor organisation needs to manage changes in two sections, in personnel
section and another in upper-level section. Change management within an organisation has three
different stages, unfreeze changing and refreeze (Grissemann et al. 2013). In the ‘unfreeze' stage,
it describes resistance of the employees, whereas in changing stage, the management can discuss
business plan to propose changes. In the ‘refreeze' stage, the management of the business assures
that the changes are implemented.
In this scenario, the organisation first clearly defines the changes to the employees in all
level that would enable the employees to understand their job levels. The changes that would be
defined must align the employees’ benefits as well. Most importantly, as stated by Couldry
(2015), whenever organisation introduces any change, it must be executed at the top level and
gradually this can be reflected in the bottom level.
The management needs to determine the impact and influence of those changes on the
business, profitability and on the employees. Talon Outdoor needs to develop a communication
strategy as the communication flow will be from top-to-bottom approach. Communication

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should not be altered and senior-level employees should be empathetic towards the lower-level
employees.
The management of Talon Outdoor needs to provide training to the employees and
implement the support structure to the employees to become used to with the culture. The
management must not be discriminated against the employees in all level. The management must
embrace the technology as Talon Outdoor believes in innovation in order to achieve the goals
and efficiently.
4.3 Monitoring improvements of business performance over a given timescale
The management of the organisation Talon Outdoor has the responsibility to judge the
monitor of the proposed changes. The management of the business can ensure that the small
business can bring the positive performance. The characteristics of the monitors of the changes
can be:
 Employees’ motivation and interest in workplace
 Rate of employees’ retention
 Evaluate the organisation’s profit margin
 Judge new strategic partnership with client
 Performance of newly expanded market
After evaluating these factors, CEO of the business can monitor the performance of the business.
Goals Period Review
Employees’ motivation In the next six months The organisation has been
trying to motivate the

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employees by training and
rewards systems
Employee retention By the end of 2019 Talon Outdoor has an aim to
increase the employee's
retention to 0%
Organisation’s profit By the end of 2019 Profitability margin has been
increased by 1% in last FY
(Q1 and Q2) and the target is
to achieve 6%
Client-based By the end of 2019 The client-based has been
increased in the UK and in
global premises as well
Performance in new market In the next six months New market performance (PR)
is struggling (as suggested
through KPI) and the
management is trying to
recruit more skilled employees
Table 3: Monitoring Improvements of small business
(Source: Self-develop)
Conclusion
It is quite obvious that change is inescapable for any business organisation and if its small
business, then changes is inevitable. As Talon Outdoor organisation is developing the changes in

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both external and internal elements. Talon Outdoor, which is a small business venture has been
in the market of out-of-home media advertisements and in the year to come it can expand its
business in PR as well. The small business organisation can follow another business to reach new
target clients in market research. In the UK market as well as global market, the organisation is
trying to flourish. However, a set of action plan with timeframe has been given in order to
flourish in the market.

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Reference List
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Buckingham, M. and Goodall, A., 2015. Reinventing performance management. Harvard
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Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: A complete guide to
the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. London: Kogan Page Publishers.
Carraher, S.M. and Paridon, T.J., 2015. Entrepreneurship journal rankings across the
discipline. Journal of Small Business Strategy, 19(2), pp.89-98.
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world. Abingdon: Routledge.
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Routledge.
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