Technology audit model

Technology audit model

1. Technology environment
   • Leadership for technology championship & pioneering research
   • Phase with the business strategy
   • Organizational level
   • Culture of learning, communication and innovation
   • Staffing system for innovation incentive
2. Technology classification
   • Product/process technology
     • Internal/external source, base/core, changes
   • Back-office technology
     • Internal/external technologies of administration, supporting, and logistics
   • Marketing technology
     • Marketing systems
     • Integrative communication of product & service
3. Analyze the market and customer
   • Market requirement
     • Assess the market growth/capacity/segments
     • Evaluate the marketing performance
   • Competitor position
     • Strength/weakness comparison
     • Benchmarking
4. Evaluate the innovation process
   • Idea formation
     • Intrepreneurship
     • Entrepreneurship
   • Technology generation
     • Technology push—technology inspiration
     • Market pull—market insight
   • Idea fulfillment
     • Time to market, break-even point
5. Analyze the value-added activity

·         R&D

• Team management, investment portfolio, risk management, experience effect, synergy effect

·         Operation

•   Production/marketing enhancement

·         Environmentalism

•   Investigate user's behavior of product disposal 
•  Green product & continuous business concept

6. Analyze the technology pool & technology acquisition 
   • Acquisition methods and performance
     • Internal development
     • External reciprocate collaboration in research/production/marketing
     • Investment in the stick share
   • Technology transfer
     • Transfer procedures
     • Internal/external staff rotation
     • Explicit/implicit dimension of know-how
   • Profit exploitation
     • Sunk cost analysis
     • Technology archive
   • Technology protection
     • Assess the IPR regime

 

 

 

Guerrilla marketing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_marketing

Cause may lead to Fail SME

1.            High Debt Ratio

The first cause of business failures you must watch out for is high debt ratio. If your business is being owed much, maybe by giving too much credit to customers, then your business is at risk. Also, if your business is heavily indebted, then it's at risk of folding up. An antidote to this is for you as an entrepreneur to always carry out an acid test ratio and keep a keen eye on the debt to equity ratio.

                "There is one paradoxical characteristic every entrepreneur must possess to succeed. An entrepreneur must be able to persuade his debtors to pay their debts promptly and at the same, must tactically delay payments to his creditors." – Ajaero Tony Martins

2.            High level of mismanagement

The second cause of business failures is high level of mismanagement. If your key staff lacks professionalism, then your business is in trouble. Since your staff are in charge of running the day to day affairs of your business, their professionalism should not be compromised for anything.

                "There will be times when you will have to be abrasive, even brutal to members of your staff. Don't worry that your people will say bad things about you because of this. They already have. But in general, try to be pleasant and accommodating. Try to please the greatest number who work for you that you can; antagonize the fewest. Blow smoke." – The Mafia Manager

3.            Unexpected resignation of staff

The third to watch out for is the unexpected resignation of staff from sensitive position. This can really pose a threat to your business so you must be prepared for it. In business, poaching is really a factor to deal with. Big companies are always poaching good employees away from other companies by enticing them with improved salaries and incentives.

                "The competition to hire the best will increase in the years ahead. Companies that give extra flexibility to their employees will have the edge in this area." – Bill Gates

4.              Inadequate Inventory

Another factor that leads to small business failures is inadequate stock or inventory. I don't need to emphasize much on this because the point is clear. If you have inadequate stock either for production or for your customers, your business is bound for failure. Also; if you stock too much inventory, you are still bound to fail because you are tying down working capital.

                "Inventories can be managed but people must be led." – Henry Ross Perot

5.            Selling products below cost price

The fifth cause of business failures is the sales of goods and services below cost price. Sometimes in business, cash crunch, fierce competition or economic factor make businesses sell their goods below cost price and this can ruin your business.

6.            Dwindling working capital

Dwindling working capital also cause of business failures and you must watch out for. Depreciating working capital may be as a result of unnecessary expenditure, too much inventory and weak cash flow management on the part of the entrepreneur.

7.            Consistent negative cash flow

The seventh factor that could lead to business failure is consistent negative cash flow. Cash flow is to business what blood is to humans. No business can survive without strong cash flow management. A solution to negative cash flow is to hire a professional accountant to keep a keen eye on the cash flow.

                "The most important word in the world of money is cash flow. The second most important word is leverage." – Rich Dad

8.            Declining Profit

Declining Profit, if not handled properly can cause business failure. If there is a down turn in profit margins due to competition or deflation, your business could be negatively affected. A solution to declining profit is to increase your sales volume so you can make more profit on turnover or better still; diversify.

9.            Loss of market share

Loss of market share is the ninth cause of most business failures. If you observe you are losing your market share due to either competition, new technology, innovation or trend, then this is a sign that your business is on the verge of been liquidated.

                "Your greatest and most powerful business survival strategy is going to be the speed at which you handle the speed of change. That speed of change is trend." – Ajaero Tony Martins

The only prevention to loss of market share is to keep your ears to the ground for any new industrial trend, technology or innovation. You must also keep an eye on your competitor and be quick to act and adapt to any positive or negative industrial change or once again; you can diversify.

10.          Inability to secure operational capital

Lastly, your inability to secure funds from financial institutions could lead to business failure. I really don't know what to say on this one because raising capital is one of the most difficult tasks in business. But it is often said that "where there is a will, there is a way." If financial institutions refuse to assist you financially, you have to turn to other sources of funds.

In conclusion, the overall cause of business failure is lack of control on the part of the entrepreneur. Never leave total control of your business to your employees even if they are professionals. Remember, professionals are only there to advise you on what to do. The final decision lies in your hand as the entrepreneur and business owner.

                "Before making an important decision, get as much as you can of the best information available and review it carefully, analyze it and draw up worst case scenarios. Add up the plus or minus factors, discuss it with your team and do what your guts tell you to do." – The Mafia Manager

Reference 

http://www.strategicbusinessteam.com/small-business-development-strategy/10-causes-of-business-failure-you-must-watch-out-for/

Evaluvate Venture Idea

Typically a feasibility study includes:

• Preliminary Assessment
• New Venture Concept
• Market Assessment
• Cost-Profit Analysis
• Plans for Future Action

Preliminary Assessment

The steps involved in evaluating and choosing a new venture not only include assessing the potential to generate the desired level of profit in the desired time frame but also the preliminary assessment of both personal and project considerations. 
Prior to evaluating the financial feasibility of your business idea you need to ask yourself the following questions:

• Why do I want to start this new venture?
• What do I want to accomplish by starting this new venture? (be specific)
  • Short-term (less than 1 year)
  • Intermediate (1 to 3 years)
  • Long-term (3 to 5 years)
• What is (was) my family's reaction? The decision to start a new venture affects the whole family therefore it is important to have their input.
• How will my lifestyle and my family's lifestyle be altered?
• Do I have the necessary skills required to develop and operate this new venture? If no, what skills do I need to develop? Should I hire someone who possess the skills I am lacking?

New Venture Concept

Once you have evaluated your personal and family commitment and your ability to enter a new venture you need to evaluate the potential success of it. It is critical for you to be able to explain clearly and concisely what your product/service is. If you have difficulty explaining your product/service to others your new venture idea needs to be refined. A well-defined idea will ensure your feasibility study is accurate and contains all of the information required to make a well informed decision.

• Briefly describe the business you want to enter.
• List the products and/or services you want to sell.
• List who will use your product/services.

Market Assessment

Assessing the market potential of your new venture concept is a critical component of any feasibility study. A serious miscalculation many entrepreneurs make is to assume that because their idea appeals to themselves and their family that other consumers will also like their product/service and therefore purchase it. Comprehensive, unbiased market research will assist you in determining the true viability of your of your new venture idea. Through market research, you will gather and refine information about:

• Customers
• Market size
• Industry
• Competition

Customer profiles 
A thorough understanding of your potential customers is essential to the success of your new venture. When defining who your customers are, you may be tempted to describe them in the broadest terms as all individuals who might use your product/service. By doing this it gives you the impression you have an exceptionally large market when in reality you may only have a niche market. Since the success of your new venture depends upon your ability to meet your customer's needs and wants you must clearly define your target market.

• Who are your customers?
• Where do they live?
• What are their needs and tastes?
• What can they afford?

Demographic description
Although each customer is unique, as a whole they can be categorized into groups according to age, income, lifestyles, as well as other characteristics. People in one group may choose the same product because it meets their needs. Demographic information will provide you with meaningful information related to your potential customers interest, need and ability to purchase your product/service. 

Use the following to help you define the demographic profile of your target market:

• gender (male/female)
• age range (child, teen, young adult, middle-age, senior)
• occupation type (white collar, blue collar, student, sales, retired, self-employed)
• income range
• hobbies & interests
• ethnic/cultural
• other important characteristics

Geographic description
Defining the geographic area you intend to market your product/service to is probably the easiest part to define. This definition should be as specific as possible indicating whether your new venture will service a certain region, city, province or country. It is also important to look at the population density. 

Use the following to help you define the geographic profile of your target market:

• Are you targeting urban Albertans? Where?
• Are you targeting rural Albertans? Where?
• Are you targeting rural Albertans? Where?
• Are you targeting all Canadians?

Psychological description 
Psychological factors are more difficult to identify but are equally important as they influence your target consumers' purchasing decision. Psychological factors explore the aspects of self image - what customers see or want to see in themselves. For example, a farmer may pride himself/herself on being extremely progressive in the agriculture industry. 

On the list below, check off all the traits that characterize your target consumer.

• Status seeking
• Trend-setting
• Conservative
• Environmentally conscious
• Family oriented
• Other

Purchasing description 
The identification of the purchasing patterns of your target consumer will assist you in predicting your sales. Answer these questions:

• Why will the customer purchase your product?
• How often will the customer purchase your product?
• How much of your product will the customer purchase?
• Why will the customer continue to use your product?
• How will the customer learn about your product?
• Where will the customer buy your product?

Buying sensitivity description 
Consumers make decision on what to buy based on a number of factors. Determine how sensitive would be to the following: 

Customer Sensitivity	High	Medium	Low	Not at All
Price
Quality
Special Offers
Where Purchased
Credit Available
Promotion
Packaging
Market Size and Trends

.
Once you have defined the characteristics of the customers you are targeting you must assess the market size and evaluate the trends that will affect the market size and customers buying habits. 

Size
You must make sure your customer base is big enough to sustain your new venture. Determining whether your market is sufficiently sizeable will be a matter of intuition and observation. The demographic and geographic information you collected on your garget customers will assist you in determining your market assessment. 

Trends
Identifying the market trends that may affect your market in coming years is equally important in assessing the market potential of your new venture. By doing this you will have a sense of your company's long-term viability, strategic opportunities the market presents and how you must respond to the changing behaviors of the customers. 

Use the following questions to help define your market size and trends:

• Approximately what is the size of your current market?
• Will your target customer base grow in the future?
• What changes are taking place within your target market?
• What changes are affecting the customers desire and ability to purchase your product/service?

Industry analysis
Although all new ventures are unique, all businesses operate as part of a larger overall industry and the forces that affect the industry will affect your business as well. In order to be successful you need to recognize, plan for and deal with the industry issues that will affect your new venture. 

In your feasibility assessment you should focus on:

• Description of your industry
• Current trends of industry
• Opportunities within industry

Use the following questions to help you in compiling this information:

• What industry are you in?
• What is the size of the industry?
• What is the growth of the industry?
• What regulations affect the industry?
• What implications do the industry regulations have on your business?
• What are the current trends in the industry?
• What opportunities have you identified in the industry?

Competition
Analyzing your competition is one of the fundamental elements of market research. You need this information to determine what your own market potential will be. Competition can be classified into two categories: direct competition and indirect competition. Direct competition occurs between marketers of the same products. Indirect competition occurs between marketers of similar products or those competing for the same dollar market. For example, indirect competition of soft drinks may be non-carbonated drinks, fruit juices of milk products. 

Answer these questions about your competition:

• Who is your competition?
• What are the major strengths of each competitor?
• What are the major weaknesses of each competitor?
• What kind of quality and service do they provide?
• At what price?
• What kind of customers do they attract?
• What makes them successful?
• What makes your product/service unique to your competition?
• Why would customers purchase your product/service rather than your competitors?

Cost-Profit Analysis

In addition to determining your market potential of your new venture idea, it's also important to consider the financial components of your business. Collecting potential sales and cost information will assist you to make reasonably accurate financial forecasts that can be used on evaluating feasibility of the new venture. 

Start-up
The financial analysis process starts with the estimation of funds required to start your new venture. The start-up costs can be divided into two categories: 

One-time costs - These are expenditures that must be made prior to you opening your business and they are not going to reoccur on a regular basis. Some examples are: starting inventory, land, buildings, building repairs, utility hookup, etc. 

Operating expenses - These are expenses required to carry out the daily operations of the business. Examples are: employee wages, raw materials, rent, supplies, marketing costs, etc. It is recommended that sufficient funds should be available to cover two to three months operating expenses and provide a cash reserve for emergencies.

Preliminary income statement
The next step is to predict what sort of profit you can expect to make by projecting your total revenue and then subtract all anticipated costs. The preliminary income statement will show: 

Predicted sales revenue 
Because your sales forecast is likely to be the most important business projection you will ever make, it's important to support your estimates with as much hard data as you can. Information collected in the market research section will be of great assistance to you. 

Cost to produce product or provide service 
Industry averages are an excellent starting point for establishing realistic estimates on how much it will cost to produce to provide your new venture idea. 

Projected fixed and variable operating costs 
Fixed costs - costs that remain constant regardless of the number of sales
Variable costs - costs that vary depending upon the volume of sales. 

Projected net operating profit/or loss 
Profit/loss = projected sales revenue minus cost to produce product/provide service and projected fixed and variable costs.

Breakeven analysis
Breakeven point is the amount of sales you have to make in order for your total costs to equal your total revenue. 
It is important to establish your breakeven point prior to proceeding too far into developing your business. If it appears the breakeven volume is not achievable, the new venture idea has limited potential for success and should not be pursued. 
Breakeven = fixed costs divided by unit selling price - variable costs 

Plans For Future Action

The previous information was developed to assist you in completing a feasibility assessment for your new venture idea. When you have completed this evaluation you need to give some thought to where to go from here. If the feasibility assessment indicates a high potential for your new venture to be profitable the next step is usually to develop a business plan. 

If your feasibility assessment indicates that your new venture idea is not likely to be profitable, don't be too disappointed. Think of all of the time and money you saved by not starting a business that has a low probability of success. 

Where to get help
Provincial government

• Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development: New Venture Coach
• Alberta Economic Development
• Agriculture Financial Services Corporation

Federal government

• Business Development Bank of Canada
• Business Planning for Agri-Ventures
• Community Futures Development Corporations
• Farm Credit Corporation
• Women's Entrepreneur Initiative

Business service centers

• The Business Link (Edmonton)
• Calgary Business Information Center

Chartered banks

• Many banks provide booklets and computer diskettes on business planning free-of- charge.

Consultants
Private consultants and management consulting firms. Look for those firms or individuals who specialize in small business. 
Larger consulting firms offer:

• market research
• market and strategic planning
• financial planning
• comprehensive financial services

Reference 

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/apa7057

compare entrepreneurs with intrapreneurs

compare entrepreneurs with intrapreneurs…

An entrepreneur is someone who, through his or her skills and passion, creates a business and is willing to take full accountability for its success or failure. An intrapreneur, on the other hand, is someone who utilizes his or her skill, passion and innovation to manage or create something useful for someone else's business... with entrepreneurial zest. 

Though both are visionary, it is the entrepreneur who spots an opportunity in the marketplace and has the courage and zeal to turn this opportunity into a business. In contrast, however, the Intrapreneur uses his or her passion, drive and skills to manage the business or create something new and useful for the business. 

The main disparity between an entrepreneur and an intrapreneur is that an entrepreneur has the freedom to act on his or her whim; whereas, an intrapreneur may need to ask for management's approval to make certain changes in the company's processes, product design or just about any innovation he or she needs to implement. Since an intrapreneur acts on innovative impulses, this may result in conflict within the organization. It is important for organizations who are implementing intrapreneurship, to create an atmosphere of mutual respect among employees. 

When it comes to resources, the intrapreneur holds an advantage over the entrepreneur since the company's resources are readily available to him or her. Conversely, an entrepreneur has the difficult task of sourcing for funding and resources on his or her own.

So, in summary…

Intrapreneurs vs. Entrepreneurs

• Entrepreneurs provide the spark. Intrapreneurs keep the flame going.
  
• Entrepreneurs are found anywhere their vision takes them. Intrapreneurs work within the confines of an organization.
  
• Entrepreneurs face many hurdles, and are sometimes ridiculed and riddled with setbacks. Intrapreneurs may sometimes have to deal with conflict within the organization.
  
• Entrepreneurs may find it difficult to get resources. Intrapreneurs have their resources readily available to them.
  
• Entrepreneurs may lose everything when they fail. Intrapreneurs still have a paycheck to look forward to (at least for now) if they fail.
  
• Entrepreneurs know the business on a macro scale. Intrapreneurs are highly skilled and specialized.

What makes entrepreneurs and intrapreneur similar is the passion to see things through to the end and the courage to face failure.

Reference 

http://www.ourknowledge.asia/1/post/2012/05/entrepreneur-or-intrapreneur-whats-the-difference.html

Greiner's Stages of Organizational Growth Model

Greiner's Stages of Organizational Growth Model.

 

·         Stage 1: Concept/test

Before a business is launched, it undergoes some form of conception and planning. This may involve a

market test or running the business as a part-time operation, before the owner places complete

dependence on it. Creative thinking, information gathering and networking are key activities in this stage.

 

·         Stage 2: Development/abort stage

The business is launched and either develops to a viable size, or it is aborted at an early stage. This

will depend critically on whether sufficient customers in the marketplace adopt the product or service

on offer, hence marketing linked to cash flow management are often the key functional activities.

Typically an individual entrepreneur manages the enterprise in this stage largely through their own

efforts. This is a particularly vulnerable stage for a business as statistics indicate that it is the smallest

and youngest firms that have the highest rates of closure.

 

·         Stage 3: Growth/decline stage

Some enterprises that have developed into a viable entity in the marketplace continue their growth

quickly or, in some cases, more steadily. Such growth may place strains on the internal structure of

the enterprise. The management of internal processes and people are often the critical functions. The

one-person entrepreneurial management style may prove inadequate to fully sustain growth. A

division of managerial tasks, the recruitment of non-owner-managers and the development of a

functionally organised team are often prerequisites to take a business through this phase, without

which it may struggle and close.

 

·         Stage 4: Maturity

Most surviving business go through a period of stability, when growth flattens and the enterprise

matures. It may at this stage lose its simple structure of centralised decision-making, use more

sophisticated business processes and become more bureaucratic in its procedures. In other words,

it takes on some of the characteristics of a larger organisation.

 

·          Stage 5: Re-growth/decline

Once an enterprise has established itself in the marketplace with a competitive advantage over its

rivals, profits or external investment may be available to exploit further the successful business

model. The so-called 's-curve hypothesis' suggests that such investment may trigger a second

period of growth. Without this further period of growth, the maturity stage can turn into stagnation and

decline, as competition intensifies from existing rivals or new entrants into the market.

 

Big Five personality traits

• Openness to experience – (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious). Appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, curiosity, and variety of experience. Openness reflects the degree of intellectual curiosity, creativity and a preference for novelty and variety. Some disagreement remains about how to interpret the openness factor, which is sometimes called "intellect" rather than openness to experience.
• Conscientiousness – (efficient/organized vs. easy-going/careless). A tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement; planned rather than spontaneous behavior; organized, and dependable.
• Extraversion – (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved). Energy, positive emotions, surgency, assertiveness, sociability and the tendency to seek stimulation in the company of others, and talkativeness.
• Agreeableness – (friendly/compassionate vs. cold/unkind). A tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others.
• Neuroticism – (sensitive/nervous vs. secure/confident). The tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety, depression, or vulnerability. Neuroticism also refers to the degree of emotional stability and impulse control, and is sometimes referred by its low pole – "emotional stability".