‘The long-term success of any business calls for a diverse body of talent that can bring fresh ideas, perspectives and views and a corporate mindset that values those views.’
Do you agree or disagree with the above statement? Support your answer with sufficient argument to corroborate your stand.
Defining a Successful Business
"The long-term success of any business calls for a diverse body of talent that can bring fresh ideas, perspectives and views and a corporate mindset that values those views." This is a true statement and no doubt in agreeing with it. Business success is the desire of every entrepreneur or business specialists. The successes of a business are highly dependent on a number of factors that are more aligned to new idea generation and formulation that pumps in the freshness of processes in the business. Big businesses that emanated from small startups have an admirable attribute that continually keeps them in business overcoming a number of challenges and weathering all manner of business ups and downs.
What defines a successful business?
A successful business is defined by a number of traits that keep the business in operation for a longer period of time. Such traits as identified by Bollins (2016) include but not limited to;
Bollins (2016) asserts that a clearly defined business vision is the beginning of a business because the vision describes what kind of business one seeks to build. A business entrepreneur needs to first figure out the type of a business s/he seeks to build and determine where s/he sees the business after a period of time. A business minded individual should be able to ask himself the “what”, “how”, “when” kind of questions before finally settling on starting the business. This is a sure way to determine what to offer and to whom and how best to offer what you choose to offer.
Despite having a clearly defined and formulated business vision, a successful business is akin to having a business plan that clearly outlines how best you will achieve your business vision. A business plan is a sure way of properly reviewing all the business requirements such as marketing strategies, planning operations, financial planning, and also consider the human capital required to run the business (Entrepreneur, 2006).
It is coherent that most successful businesses around have a list of deliverables that can be achieved at a short-term period even though it is necessary that businesses have long-term business goals. A successful business should be able to classify its short-term goals into time frames that such goals can be achieved, for instance, quarterly goals, monthly or weekly goals that sum up to an annual goal. Goal setting is a gradual yet continuous process that should not only be focused in profit/revenue generation but also focus in ways of satisfying your customers’ demands, offering quality customer service, business growth and/or any other relevant task that can boost the business.
Traits of a Successful Business: Vision, Plan, Skill Management, Marketing, Customer Knowledge, Innovation, Knowledge Management, Competition Analysis, Research and Development, Customer Feedback, Adaptability, Moral and Ethical Issues
Most successful businesses have mastered the art of developing and managing skills within the business premise. Business success is often measured on the skill set at the disposal of the business environment and how best the business uses the available skills for its growth and development. Successful businesses often commit its resources in training and developing the workforce to fit and blend in the tasks they undertake. Continual training and development is the key to ensure your staff are on par with their responsibilities and harness their full potential.
Jamal (2015) assert that marketing in a business is at the heart of a business success since most aspects of the business is highly dependent on the marketing strategies used by the business owners. Marketing determines how best a business sells itself to the consumers. Without marketing, consumers would barely know the existence of a business. Bollins (2016) further notes that it is necessary that a business utilizes various marketing avenues such as adverts, offering newsletters and taking advantage of social media platform for a big base of possible customers.
A customer is a king in a business. A proper knowledge of business customer puts the business in a better position to produce customer-specific service or product and working out better strategies on how to completely satisfy the customer. Ewing (2015) adds that knowing a customer should not only encompass age, sex, and levels of income but also other interests such as hobbies and tastes which could also prove advantageous to the business in offering aftersales services.
As earlier identified, a successful business employs quite a number of strategies in putting the business at a competitive position so that it can sufficiently, effectively and efficiently achieve its objectives and satisfying customer needs without deviation. Sykes (2017) analyses a number of strategies applied by successful business to beat the competition and to stay top of their game in business making the business more successful. These include but not limited to;
Innovation in a business refers to the aspect of bringing a change on how to do things in a business. The changing of how to do things would encompass creating new effective processes and getting rid of redundant processes, creating more products, improving on the existing products and pumping new ideas into the business (Business.gov.au, 2018). For a business to be innovative, there should be a creation of an innovation-friendly environment where employees are encouraged to innovate through effective processes in place. With a good approach to innovation, the business is able to reduce operational costs, increase productivity, achieve a competitive edge in the market, establish many stakeholders, improve profitability and revenue generation and to build a competitive brand in the competitive market (Infoentreprenuers.org, 2018).
Alavi & Leidner (2001) define knowledge management as a process of securing, apportioning, and effective use of knowledge in a business. Koenig (2018) further expounds on the meaning of Knowledge Management in a business as a systematic approach to ensuring information flows uninterruptedly to, from and between the right people in the right time in the desired format and at a desired cost so that the people involved can act effectively and efficiently for proper value creation of the business. According to Creene (2018), it is important for a business to manage knowledge in the business premise because knowledge management is beneficial in a number of ways such as; proper and timely decision-making process, transfer of knowledge hence the business does not run the risk of knowledge drain, processes are standardized, fewer mistakes in the business processes, motivation and attitude building. All these aims at creating a work environment where everybody feels included hence ensuring higher productivity and innovation.
Sykes (2017) asserts that a business entrepreneur needs to keep tabs with its main business competitors by understanding their products or services that rival your products and services. The information on competition will enable the business to market its products and services strategically and to understand and use the weaknesses of the competition to the business advantage.
A successful business takes into account the use of research and development for its advantage. Research on new and emerging markets makes the business expand to new niches and increase sales volume which relatively with sour the business to a new income level. It is vital that the business management carries out a thorough homework to determine best technologies to impose in the business to automate processes and systems in the business so that the business becomes more effective.
As often said, a customer is a king in a business. The customer feedback on products and services offered by a business will determine how best the business would perform in so far as satisfying the customer demands and interests. The business should, therefore, listen to the feedback regarding their services and products and offer a better service or product that suits the desire of the stakeholders.
Change is inevitable in a business environment. A successful business is one that embraces a given change and eliminates rigidity in its processes and systems. A business owner should be able to accept a change and make adaptable approaches. A change in product or service responses by stakeholders should act as a trigger to introduce a counter way to embrace the change in a flexible manner.
Saez (2018) analyses the moral and ethical issues that characterize successful business and also identifies the distinction between moral issues and the ethical issues therein. Moral issues in a business are those issues that are attributed to business values and beliefs be it political, religious or cultural. Ethical issues, on the other hand, are the issues that govern how best these values and beliefs are applied in the business both in the short and long-term to bring the desired outcome. Both moral and ethical issues are therefore intertwined and should be carefully applied in a business to maintain professionalism and manage accountability in the operational environment.
Saez (2018) note that in regarding morality in business, the business owners should be motivated to embrace morality and act in ways that preserve the business identity and what it stands for. The morals perspective of the business should be clearly evident in the mission and vision statements of the business. Moral issues such as trust, honesty, dedication, accountability, and integrity should have a base for measurement and evaluation and if possible should be included in the business's mission as these issues help build trust in the business and its stakeholders. Moral issues in business are important for both legal and moral lessons, for instance, in the event, the business spells out in its values statement that it offers equal employment opportunities to all, it puts the business in the limelight as a discrimination-free business which does not despise in age, gender or physical appearance.
It is, however, critical to note that there is a thin line of difference that exists between moral issues and ethical issues, probably the difference lies in the definition of the terms. The two terms are all intertwined in meaning and apply to a business in equal measures.
Ethical issues as earlier defined refer to how best the business puts in practice the available moral beliefs and values such as honesty, credibility, and accountability among other notable moral issues. Oster (2018) assert that it is vital that a business embrace major ethical issues such as trust and integrity. Integrity, Oster (2018) notes encompass the manner in which the business will conduct its affairs in an honest manner and commitment to fair treatment of business stakeholders. In the realization by major business stakeholders that the business has them at heart and treats them fairly and honestly, a big trust will be developed which in turn results in the business success (Tutorialspoint.com, 2018).
Ethical issue consideration comes in handy with other ethical related issues such as diversity issues. According to Sharifian (2017), diversity issues of ethical conduct related to the difference in cultures and people who need to respected and treated fairly. Further, ethical response to diversity in business starts with engaging a diverse human capital and inducing equal opportunity framework for training and development of the diverse team so that every member of the business feels positively accommodated.
Sharifian (2018) also notes that ethical issues also incorporate decision-making process. It is important that a business identifies avenues for proper ethical decision-making framework which will result in adequate solutions that uphold integral issues in determining the proper course of action. Ethical decision making, therefore, should weigh the interest of the customers, employees and other stakeholders without skewing to either side.
Lastly, it is ethical that a business operates in accordance with the set governance standards. This encompasses compliance issues of the business code of conduct. This is keeping tabs with the government regulations in complying with the laws such as environmental laws, safety regulations, financial reporting laws among other necessary civil laws. The compliance with these laws would win trust in all the major stakeholders of the business and create a harmonious coexistence.
References
Alavi, M., & Leidner, D. E. (2001). Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issues. MIS Quarterly, 107-136.
Bollins, L. (2016). 10 Must-Have Characteristics of a Successful Business. Retrieved from https://www.mycustomer.com/community/blogs/lisa-bollins/10-must-have-characteristics-of-a-successful-business
Business Ethics Tutorial. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/business_ethics/index.html
Ewing, J. (2015). The Importance of Knowing Your Customer | GROW. Retrieved from https://www.growbusiness.org/the-importance-of-knowing-your-customer/
Greene, J. (2018). What Is Knowledge Management, and Why Is It Important? · Spoke. Retrieved from https://www.askspoke.com/blog/knowledge-management/knowledge-management-importance/
Business.gov.au. (2018). Innovation. Retrieved from https://www.business.gov.au/change-and-growth/innovation
Jamal, B. (2015). The Importance of Marketing for the Success of a Business. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-marketing-success-business-jamal-eddine/
Koenig, M. (2018). What is KM? Knowledge Management Explained. Retrieved from https://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/What-Is/What-is-KM-Knowledge-Management-Explained-122649.aspx
Oster, K. (2018). List of Ethical Issues in Business. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/list-ethical-issues-business-55223.html
Saez, A. (2018). What Are the Differences Between Ethical Issues & Moral Issues in Business? Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/differences-between-ethical-issues-moral-issues-business-48134.html
Sharifian, Z. (2017). What are the ethical and moral issues in business today? Retrieved from https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-ethical-and-moral-issues-in-business-today
Sykes, T. (2017). 6 Timeless Strategies That Drive Successful Entrepreneurship. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242573
Inforentrepreneurs.org (2018). Use innovation to grow your business. Retrieved from https://www.infoentrepreneurs.org/en/guides/use-innovation-to-grow-your-business/
Entrepreneur (2006). What Successful Businesses Have in Common. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/83764
