The success of any enterprise strongly depends on its hiring strategies, retention methods, time-efficiency, financing and relationships with the customers. Provided that this firm is a new-comer in the market, it has to establish its reputation for quality of their products or services. In this paper, we are going to analyze a situation when close partners or friends intend to open a sporting goods store. This is a relatively small business which is entirely unfamiliar to the target audience. Its founders should avoid four major failures that can reduce their efforts to zero.
These flaws are as follows:
- managerial incompetence,
- negligent attitude of the employees towards their duties;
- weak control systems and
- insufficient capital.
To some extent, all of them can result into the bankruptcy of the business.
At first the partners should conduct job interview in order to find three most suitable candidates for the role of their assistants or managers. Most likely, it will be a series of interviews; during them it will be necessary to evaluate applicants ability to think critically, prioritizing, and decision-making in various situations. Some scholars argue that they may spend several hours in the firm and probably do several small tasks so that the employers could assess their strong and weak points (Briscoe & Schuler, 2004). Perhaps, this is one of the best methods of recruitment. This will enable to select the most skillful and experienced people. At the moment, when three assistants have been chosen, the owners of the shop should test their team skills, because frequently even highly-qualified professionals cannot collaborate due the incompatibility of characters or management styles. Naturally, such possibility is rather slim but we should not disregard it.
The associates cannot possibly do the hiring process on their own. Their assistants should also participate in this activity. Their help will significantly alleviate the burden. When the enterprise is fully staffed, it is of the crucial importance that this shop excels itself in speed, quality, delivery etc. Neglect and careless attitude of the workers is the most dangerous shortcoming in any company. The management can use several methods to put an end to this behavior. This can be done by providing proper stimulation: 1) monetary awards given on a monthly basis, 2) competitive salaries; 3) training courses so that people saw prospects for development and career growth (Nieuwenhuizen & Rossouw, 2009). Some people prefer authoritative leadership style and use fear for ensuring good performance. This will definitely yield some fruits for some period of time, but afterwards the atmosphere in the shop will become very tense, workers may be even hostile to one another and many of them will search for a different job.
Monitoring is also helpful for dealing with neglect or irresponsible conduct. This is a continuous process which involves observation of business activities and elimination of the problems arising in the course of work (Flamholtz, 1996). The managers as well as partners need to make sure that every person in their store is able and willing to fulfill his or her obligations: this rule goes for every individual hired by the firm: delivery men, shop assistants, loaders, consultants, quality assurance and so forth. If a worker has potential but he or she lacks some skills probably it might be prudent to spend some time on extra training.
In this respect, we need to discuss management control systems. Normally this component is an inherent part of large enterprises. This is a technique used for assessment of the firms effectiveness. Control system covers such aspects as profitability, personnel, clients satisfaction or dissatisfaction, finance etc. Given the fact, that this goods store is unknown to buyers, the managers should adopt such policy as TQM (Total Quality Management) because in this way they may win the trust of would-be clients (Flamholtz, 1996). However, this tactics sets rather high standards for all participants: suppliers, managers, packagers, shop-assistants consultants etc but this is one of the best strategies for achieving success in the saturated market of sports goods.
Nevertheless, there is another question which needs to be resolved, it is accumulation of capital. First, prior to starting this shop, partners should objectively estimate operational costs they will have to incur and resources which they have. They need to determine whether their venture stands any chance of breaking even. Yet, even the most thorough analysis may overlook unexpected expenses. We can single out several methods of attracting investors. This shop may act as an advertising agent promoting the products of a separate manufacture. They can start as franchisees of some trademarks (like Nike, Adidas, or Puma). They may be willing to use this store as an outlet. Furthermore, the entrepreneurs should develop a clear business plan in order to receive loan in the bank. The creditors should be convinced that this firm can flourish in the future.
On the whole, people who intend to enter into this area must be perfectly aware of all unexpected difficulties they may face, namely stiff competition, unaccounted costs, problems with location of the shop, and its positioning in the market. Their main task is to establish and meet high quality standards so that both clients and employees wanted to be a part of this firm.
Reference List
Briscoe D. Schuler. R (2004). International Human Resource Management: Policies & Practices for the Global Enterprise. New York, Routledge.
Flamholtz. E (1996). Effective management control: theory and practice. Springer.
Nieuwenhuizen C. Rossouw. D (2009). Business Management: A Contemporary Approach. Juta and Company Limited.