MKT3026 - Opportunity, Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Interview Report

This report presents an interview with the manager of Woodfort Children Home, conducted as part of the MKT3026 module on Opportunity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Northampton. The interview covers a range of topics, including the organization's objectives, operational s...Read More

Running head: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Q1.)What was the main objective behind opening the Woodfort children home? What led you
into opening the organization?
The main objective behind opening Woodfort Children home is to provide for the
welfare of the young people and the children between the age group of 11-17 years of age.
What led me into opening the organization is the need to provide safety and care to children
such that they can rebuild their lives and also for the purpose of preparing them for achieving
a bright future. Another major aim behind opening the children home was to help the children
to cope with difficult situation where they fail to understand what needs to be done. Children
often display negative behaviours because of different issues at school, or even at their homes
and therefore the children’s home is aimed at helping all these children.
Q2.)How far has your organization been successful in meeting the objectives and goals of the
Woodfort Children home?
The three main objectives of our organization includes- providing mentorship,
providing health care facilities and also offering educational facilities. Mentorship activities
are aimed at taking care of the children who have been engaged in any form of negative
behaviour, educational activities will help the children in preparing them for a bright future
by equipping them with different sets of knowledge and skills through high quality education.
Further the health care facilities are provided to the children through integrated systematic
theory, cognitive behaviours therapy and also different types of play therapy for the mental
and physical fitness of the children. So far we have been able to provide educational and
health care facilities to the children by providing proper care to the children for their mental
and physical wellbeing and also the organization provides for educational support by being in
good terms with different educational institutions. However we need to improve our
mentorship activities and educational activities such as we need to be registered under DFES.

2INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Q3.)Do you feel you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? And what according to you are
some of the most essential qualities an entrepreneur should have in order to become
successful?
I feel that I have the set of skills and knowledge required for becoming an
entrepreneur. Moreover I can also be a good entrepreneur because I also have my work
experience in the business field therefore I have both practical experience and subjective
knowledge. According to me some of the essential qualities for becoming a successful;
entrepreneur includes- having an ambition or a vision that will motivate the individuals to
carry out their activities in a focused way moreover kit will also act as an internal driver for
the individuals. Individuals need to have the ability to listen and also show that they are
willing and interested in learning new set of skills and knowledge. Further it is also necessary
for individuals to be creative such that they can think differently and therefore will be in a
position to identify different alternatives of solving a problem or dealing with a situation.
Q4.)Do you feel that the operations of your company are being carried out properly or will
you recommend some changes?
I feel that our organization is working towards our mission and vision that is to
provide proper care and education to children who have displayed any type of negative
behaviour due to any issues at home or school by providing them with residential homes. The
target market of the company includes children between the age group of 11-17 years of age
who have been suffering from certain issues and are therefore unable to deal with different
situations properly. We are ensuring the same by providing different therapies to the children
such as the cognitive behavioural therapy, play therapy integrated systems therapy. Moreover
we have good relationships with various educational institutions however we are
continuously trying to improve our educational facilities that are being provided the children.

3INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Q5.) Are the child care needs of your area changing?
The child care needs includes 8 basic necessities for the children- security, stability,
consistency, emotional support, love and care, education, role modelling and structure.
However the present child care needs are changing because and has become a major concern
for the guardians because of the changing nature of work. Moreover people are not being able
to manage their work life balance properly. Due to all these reasons children may get
neglected by their parents and as a result may indulge in different negative activities.
Therefore out organization is aimed at helping all these families and children in properly
dealing with the situation that is presently being faced by them.
Q6.)Have you thought about any new innovative ways of improving the existing services
offered by your organization?
For analysing the mental status or condition of the children or the focus of the
organization that comprises of children between the age group of 11-17years of age the
organization used to apply traditional consultation procedures however the organization is
expected to use psychometric tests for the same purpose from now on as the mentioned
innovative way will help to increase the effectiveness of the process. At the same time the
organization has a special need of improving their poor educational attendance and for the
same the organization is required to introduce engagement activities such as fun games
sessions.
Q7.)Do you feel your organization meets all the licensing requirements of your country, state
in which you are presently established?
I feel that our organization tries to comply with most of the legal requirements and
licensing requirement related to children residential homes. Some of the legal requirements

4INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
related to the same includes- the Care standards act of 2002 and the licensing act 2005. These
acts lay down different requirements that are required to be followed by the children
residential care, day care and other similar businesses.
Q8.)What is the budget model of your organization? How far has it been able to meet all the
organizational expenses effectively and do you feel there needs to be a change in the budget
model?
Since our organization is a non-profit organization therefore we get our funds from
the government for carrying on our activities. Moreover we also get funds from different
stakeholders such as parents may decide to contribute, further various other local bodies may
also decide to contribute to our financial resources. Some of the major expenses of our
company include- payment of fees to the therapist who are providing different therapies to
the children, expense of the fooding and lodging of the children, expenses on various other
leisure activities in order to motivate the children. The expenses also include the cost of
different safety and security facilities for the purpose of meeting the different special needs of
the children. The expenses also include the cost of education of the children. Therefore the
budget model of the organization is decided keeping in view all the above mentioned
expenses. Currently we are able to meet the organizational expenses effectively.
Q9.)What is your role in the business?
My role as the manager of the Woodford Children home is to look after the day to day
activities, to supervise the functions of the employees of the organization. Further I also need
to continuously identify if any gaps are there or I need to identify the ways in which I can
improve the operations of the organization and then make suggestion to the top management.
I need to see that the operations are being carried out smoothly by ensuring that the children

5INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
are getting a safe and secure environment because then the parents of those children can get
their peace.
Q10.)Have you visited any day care centre in your locality and if yes then how many? And
what have you observed about their functioning and operations?
Yes I have visited different day care centres at my locality and I have also visited
different children residential care homes in my location. The same has helped me in
understanding the functions or the way the operations in the day care centres and the children
residential homes is carried out. Some of the major functions noticed by me include-
provision of safety, education, socialization and heath care facilities. The main function of the
day care centres or the children residential homes includes provision of a safe and secure
environment to the children such that their parents concern can be reduced. Different types of
educational activities are carried out by the organizations for creating a bright future of the
children.
Q11.)What are the main sources of your funding? And have you thought about any other
sources from which you can get your funding?
One of the main sources of funds for us includes the funds provided to us by
government for the purpose of carrying out our day to day operations and activities. Further
funds are also contributed by different local authorities and bodies and also the parents of the
children.
Q12.)Has your company ever thought about franchising your business? If when then with
whom?
We have not thought about franchising business and the main reason behind the same
is that we are afraid that the quality of our services will be reduced if the same is carried out

6INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
in other places. Moreover the franchisers may fail to understand our style of managing the
activities and they may also fail to understand the seriousness’s and dedication with which
our staff works for supporting and helping the children.
Q13.)Does your organization comply with all regulations of child care?
Some of the major regulations of child care in woodford include- Child care act of
2006 whose main purpose is to ensure- welfare to all those children who have been subjected
to lack of care and protection. Some other legal requirements include the children’s and
families act 2014. The main aim of the children and families act of 2014 is to look after the
different special needs of the children related to different educational needs of the children.
Our organization tries to comply with all the legal requirements.
Q14.)From where does your organization hire employees? Or what are the sources of hiring
employees of your organization? And what kind of training do you provide to all your
employees?
Some of the major sources of hiring for our company includes- obtaining the
employees through advertisements in the newspaper and also in our official website. Further
we also believe in employee referrals for identifying and recruiting new employees. We
provide the employees with induction and also carry out close supervision of their activities
and also activities such as shadowing.
Q15.)Are there any mistakes you feel you could have avoided? What alternative way could
have been adopted by you to avoid those mistakes?
I feel that there are certain gaps in our educational practices that needs to be fulfilled
by the use if latest technology and also different engagement activities.