The essential guide to managing small business growth / Peter Wilson and Sue Bates.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1 Managing Business Growth.--Making the transition.--The relevance of management theory to growing businesses.--Managing effectively and efficiently.--Setting realistic goals.--Synopsis of the book.--2 Making Sense of Strategy.--Strategic issues: Setting the scene.--The Titanic: A salutary lesson in strategy.--Review of current performance.--Analysing competitive forces.--Market segmentation: Defining customer behavior.--Strategic marketing analysis.--Distinctive competence.--Hygiene factors.--Defining core competences.--Completing the strategic review: SWOT analysis.--Setting strategy.--Phase 1: Setting out the options.--Phase 2: Evaluating the options.--The chosen strategy.--Stretching your organization.--Organic growth vs merger or acquisition.--Notes.--Further reading.--3 Marketing for Profit.--Customer behavior.--Market segmentation.--Profiling the customer.--Competitor analysis and distinctive competence.--Market positioning.--The marketing mix.--Products and product ifferentiation.--Pricing.--Place: Channels of distribution.--Promotion: Communicating the offer.--People: Organizing the marketing function.--Relationship marketing.--Customer relationship management (CRM).--Customer feedback.--Market research.--The marketing plan.--Postscript: Action on ABCO's marketing problems.--Notes.--Further reading.--4 Developing an Organization that Delivers the Strategy.--Understanding organization.--Organization maintenance and development.--The origins of an organization.--How organizations work: Structure, people, processes and systems.--Structure.--The form of the organization.--People.--Processes and systems.--Specifying jobs and the people to fill them.--Other influences on organization. Organizational diagnosis: How to overhaul your organization.--Further reading.--5 Getting Performance from People.--Attention to task and to people processes.--People and productivity.--Personal resources and self.--management.--Managing priorities and getting things done.--Understanding motivation.--Positive motivation, dissatisfaction and demotivation.—Getting performance from people.--Managing performance: A framework for practice.--Briefing and 'contract setting'.--Monitoring.--Feedback and review.--Dealing with entrenched performance problems.--Feedback, learning and growth.--Notes.--Further reading.--6 Leading the Team.--Power in the growing organization: Making it safe to delegate.--Leadership and delegation.--Leadership style.--Working with teams.--Balancing attention to task with attention to people and processes.--Team roles: Composition of the successful team.--Stages of team development.--Matching team processes to task and situation.--Finding the people for the team.--Aligning people with purpose: Using performance appraisal effectively.--A workable appraisal system.--Conducting an appraisal meeting.--Systematic development of competences.--Recruiting new people.--Selection interviewing.--Avoiding recruitment pitfalls.--Induction of new recruits.--Building and leading the team: The underlying skills.--Notes.--Further reading.--7 Culture, Creativity and Change.--Culture and the growing organization.--What is organizational culture?.--Understanding the organization's culture.--Is there a small.--business culture?.--The influence of founders and owners.--Structure, empowerment and the can.--do culture.--Influencing culture positively.--Maintaining freshness: Encouraging better ways of doing things.--Renewal through learning, contribution and growth.--Further reading. 8 Managing Business Performance through Financial Analysis.--The financial statements.--Accounting principles.--Exploring the profit and loss account.--Exploring the balance sheet.--Presentation of accounts for sole traders and partnerships.--Maintaining adequate capital.--Cash.--flow statement.--Why is profit not the same as cash?.--Financial analysis.--Using ratio analysis to understand financial performance.--Further reading.--9 Management Information Systems and Financial Controls.--Controlling profit and cash.--Controlling profit: The P&L account.--Managing strategy through gross profit margin.--Controlling cash: The balance sheet.--Notes.--Further reading.--10 Planning for the Future.--Types of business plans.--The strategic business plan.--Stages of strategic planning.--Preparation.--Business review.--Customer feedback and market research.--Setting objectives.--Setting corporate strategy.--Financial adequacy.--Reviewing and revising the strategic plan.--Operational action plans.--Monitoring the strategic plan.--Note.--Further reading.--11 Hazards on the Path to Growth.--Stay focused or venture into new markets?.--Failure to let go.--A future role for the founder.--Appointing a successor to the founder CEO.--Family members on the payroll.--Failure to delegate effectively: Undermining management.--Owner.--manager guilt as a barrier to growth.--Note.--Appendix 1: Example of a Strategic Business Plan.--Appendix 2: Example of a Marketing Plan.--Appendix 3: Example of a Job Specification.--Appendix 4: Costing and Pricing Example.--Index.

A cliche it may be but we are living in ever more turbulent times. Business decision-making has become more challenging and unpredictable than ever: we see unforeseen and often cataclysmic changes in consumer demand, both at home and in export markets; customers continue to demand more, more quickly and for less; new laws and regulations abound; competitors steal loyal customers; and, increasingly, the advice that once could be found from a 'Small Business Adviser' has been replaced by a call centre. Hand in hand with these challenges, the risks associated with expansion, or a new strategy, have grown significantly. In the context of a small business, where a manager has not necessarily had the breadth of experience of someone in a larger organization or formal management learning, they can seem extremely daunting. This book addresses the issues confronting managers/owners of SMEs by providing practical, jargon-free advice on which a SME can create a sound platform from which to prosper. * Uncomplicated and jargon free to appeal to the SME director or manager who has little time to read * Can be used as a continuous read or a source of ides for dealing with the day-to-day problems of running and growing a small business * Based on the practical experience of the authors with examples taken from consulting practice.