Life Skills: the importance of being able to cope with stress in a job

Technology: the importance of training staff in how to use new technology when introducing it into the workplace.

Staff Motivation

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Keeping staff motivated is good for business. Here are some examples why:

Motivated workers are more productive and higher productivity usually means higher profits.

In a service industry, workers who are well motivated will provide a better level of customer service, keeping the customers happy.

Stadf who are well motivated are more likely to stay with the company. They grow in experience and become even more valuable to their employer.

If a business successfully keeps the staff it has, the cost of recruiting and training new staff is reduced.

How can a business provide for these needs?

Basic needs:

A fair wage, a meal and rest facilities.

Safety needs

Job security, safe working conditions, pension schemes.

Social needs

Met by introducing team work and perhaps providing social facilities like a club or sports pitch.

Self-esteem needs

This is about how others see us at work and can be provided for by rewarding staff with status symbols like cars, offices and new job titles. Allowing staff to gain qualifications at work can boost self-esteem too.

Self-actualisation

Achieving your full potential. A business must ensure that promotion is possible and that there are opportunities to use initiative.

Financial motivators

Money, and the way it is paid, can affect motivation to work. In your exam, you may be asked to calculate wages and bonuses or to compare one type of payment scheme to another. These are some of the most usual payment systems:

Time rate or ’wages’

Paying by the number of hours worked.

Piece rate

Paying by the number of items (pieces) produced.

Overtime

Extra pay for work done over and above normal working hours. It is usually paid at a higher hourly rate, e.g. double time means twice the normal hourly rate.

Shift payments

Usually paid for working unsocial hours such as night work.

Bonus payments

A special single payment for achieving a target.

Profit sharing

A percentage of the company’s profit is shared amongst the workers.

Paying extra money for jobs with difficult hours will usually encourage people to apply for the work.

A loyalty bonus can be used to persuade workers to stay with their employer for a long period of time. Employees may not want to work longer than their contracted hours but they can often be persuaded to do so by receiving a higher rate of pay.

A perk is a payment in kind. Instead of giving money the employer might provide:

cars

health insurance

free uniform

discounted products

first class travel

Tutorials: 4 Steps used to Evaluate New Product Ideas

cannon writes "In our highly competitive markets, new products are thought by many to be the key to business growth and profitability. The problem developing successful new products is not a shortage of ideas, but rather the expense in producing and marketing new products without any guarantee of success. Sadly, this is a fact that is little known to individual inventors and is a tremendous hurdle for a manufacturer. Consequently much time and effort has been devoted to developing a systematic approach to new product development.

Individual inventors are free to go wherever their imagination and their pocket book will take them. Existing companies, however, have learned to restrict new product development to product ideas that are in line with the strategic direction of the company and the needs of the marketplace they currently serve or plan to serve in the future. In new product development there are steps that are common to most all-new product development.

Step 1. Gather new product ideas. Ideas can come from individual inventors looking to sell their ideas or gather a royalty on the sale of the product. Many companies encourage individual inventors to submit ideas on their websites. Ideas can also come from within the organization. Sometimes ideas come from a formal research effort or sometimes from people on the factory floor. The more product ideas you have, the more options you have and without good options to choose from, it is impossible to make a good decision.

Step 2. All new ideas need to be screened to insure that the idea supports the strategic direction of the company. Even though an idea looks interesting, if it doesn’t support the strategic direction of the company, it must be discarded.

Step 3. Make a business assessment of where best to spend time, money and effort in product development. Wendell Leimbach of MLE Consulting uses a matrix for strategically evaluating new product ideas, which I have modified slightly below:

Intellectual Property Strategy

Make money fast before it is copied

Sustainable Growth

Waste of Effort (easily copied)

Expensive Waste of Effort

Easy Difficult

Ease of Entry

This product matrix divides ideas into four quadrants based on ease of entry into the market on one axis and uniqueness on the other. Ideas below the line should be discarded unless there is some way to move them above the line. Ideas above the line should be evaluated for intellectual property protection.

Step 3 is a decision point that frequently is the end of the decision process about which product ideas to pursue. They stop here because efforts beyond this point become much more expensive and until recently, there have not been many alternatives. If this is the last step, then the likelihood of failure is extremely high. It also helps to explain why so many people refer to the process as the “Fuzzy Front End” of product development as there is little to help predict the success or failure of the idea at this point.

Step 4. Take the ideas and turn them into product concepts. It involves researching customer requirements. It also involves testing the concept to determine if the concept will meet the needs of the customer. Marketing will analyze market potential and possible price points. This is also the step where engineering gets involved in producing concept drawings, models and possibly even prototypes. It also involves the engineers and accountants working together to develop estimated product costs and possibly even tooling costs. All this is done in an effort to determine whether or not it makes economic sense to continue to explore the development of an particular idea.

Step 4 has become more feasible with the introduction of new technologies (like 3D CAD Modeling, Stereo lithography, Room Temperature Vulcanization, Reaction Injection Molding and Rapid Solidification process) that allow for the rapid production of prototypes and economical, small production runs. This step is iterative in that a prototype is produced and put in the hands of a statistically significant number of end users. Feedback on the product is obtained that provides an opportunity to enhance the new product and it’s acceptance. This information is fed back to the designers of the product. New prototypes are developed and the process is repeated until the product attains a level of statistical success that can be projected against the target audience or the idea is dropped before huge sums of money are spent on production tooling, inventory and expensive market introductions.

My experience and recent research confirm that most companies spend more money determining the cost to produce an item than they do on researching customer acceptance. I believe this is one reason why many new products fail to achieve commercial success. Rapid change, increasing competition, complexity, organizational stress and high customer expectations have combined to make successful new products a key to profitability for inventors and manufacturer alike. The pace of the market provides less time to overcome new product failures and reestablish credibility. Speed to market is important, but Step 4 (The Product Accelerator Process) is critical to financial success with new products.

The advantages of renting depend on exactly what you have agreed with the landlord. With a typical lease, you agree to occupy the premises for a fixed number of years and pay an agreed rent, though the lease may allow the rent to be reviewed periodically. Upfront costs for leasing premises are often relatively low, though you may pay a premium to purchase the lease. Sometimes you may also have to provide a refundable deposit. You should also take into account legal and other professional fees

However, there are disadvantages. You may have significant maintenance and repair obligations. The lease may include other obligations and restrictions. You may also have difficulties if your needs change and you want to move before the lease ends.

Most small businesses do not have the capital available to purchase their premises outright. Even if you can borrow to finance the purchase, you may feel that you have better uses for your capital.If you do choose to buy, it can have several advantages:

you control your own premises and can stay there as long as you like

you can choose to occupy the premises yourself, rent them to someone else, or sell them

your costs are relatively fixed, particularly if you have a fixed-rate mortgage, whereas rents can increase significantly over time

you can alter the premises to suit yourself - subject to legal restrictions

over the long term, the value of the property may rise

Against this, you have to weigh the disadvantages. Buying property is an expensive and often time-consuming process, involving significant professional fees and stamp duty. You’ll also be responsible for all the maintenance and repairs. If your needs change, selling the property can be difficult and expensive, and you might find that the value has fallen.

You may be able to claim capital allowances towards the cost of renovating or converting your business premises. Since 11 April 2007, businesses in designated disadvantaged areas have been able to claim 100 per cent capital allowances on the costs of renovating or converting business properties that have been vacant for more than one year.

Find out more about capital allowances in disadvantaged areas on the HM Revenue & Customs website - Opens in a new window.

Legal advice is strongly recommended if you are buying premises. You’ll also need to be aware of your legal obligations. For example, you’ll need to ensure that the premises meet health and safety standards. For more information, see the page in this guide on legal considerations when choosing business premises.

For more information, see our guide to buying business premises.

Time Management

Good time management is essential if you are to handle a heavy workload without excessive stress. By using time management skills effectively, you can reduce work stress by being more in control of your time, and by being more productive. This ensures that you have time to relax outside work.

The central shift of attitude within time management is to concentrate on results, not on activity.

To this end, it embraces a range of skills that help you to:

Assess the value of your time, understand how effectively you are using it, and improve your time use habits;

Focus on your priorities so that you focus on the most important jobs to do, delegate tasks where possible, and drop low value jobs;

Manage and avoid distractions; and

Create more time.

Time Management helps you to reduce long-term stress by giving you direction when you have too much work to do. It puts you in control of where you are going, and helps you to increase your productivity. By being efficient in your use of time, you should enjoy your current role more, and should find that you are able to find the time to relax outside work and enjoy life.

A great advertising campaign can transform your company by turning on new audiences and keeping your name in the forefront of their everyday lives. Selecting an ad agency that is in tune with your vision can be an overwhelming task at first, but by asking the right questions and staying involved in the creative process, you can choose an ad agency that is committed to your company’s success.

Step1Write down some key words or ideas about your business that you would like an ad agency to build a campaign around. Send out a request for proposals to multiple ad agencies in you area and request a face-to-face meeting with a select few that catch your attention based on their financial speculations and brainstorms.

Step2Focus on the total package that the agencies are offering during the meeting. It’s easy to be dazzled by their stellar presentations but there is more to advertising than just aesthetics. The agency you ultimately decide on should understand how your company fits into the marketplace and the various ways they can address each facet of that presence to maximize revenue.

Step3Gauge the size of the agency against the size of your company. The larger the company, the less likely your needs will be adequately addressed since their focus will be on more prominent accounts. Select an ad agency that is small enough to make you feel like a priority.

Step4Assess their interest in landing an account with you. Before throwing a bunch of creative ideas at you, a good ad agency will have done some background research into your company and be eager to discuss it. It’s a good sign if you can sense the enthusiasm emanating from the group.

Step5Ask to see their work for other accounts. Be on the lookout for campaigns that are campy or gimmicky in nature. Humor is an important element of advertising but the agency you select should also be able to take a modest position with their clients, too.

Step6Have a discussion about your expectations and see how they respond. Constructive criticism is healthy but if you find yourself getting bullied in the meeting, it is time to move on to another prospect.

Step7Tour the offices of the agencies you are interested in. See if the staff looks upbeat and excited about their job. Better yet, if you can picture yourself fitting into their work environment, then you will probably develop a healthy (and profitable) working relationship with your team.

General procedure

A choice of three different topics

One minute preparation while making notes

A/B starts with the other listening---one minute