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Seminar: Considering the role of business
Topic Number:1
Principles of Business
Overview
In this first seminar you are tasked with working in a group to come up with your own business idea and thereafter formulate a plan to get it up and running.
It is important to note that you will be working in the same group and on the same business for a number of weeks and therefore should come up with a business idea that is exciting and viable.
For todays seminar we will be looking for your group to come up with:
• The type of business and structure you would go for• The various roles in the organisation each of you would take on• Consider what the customer need is and how your company is
going to satisfy it?• What have you learnt about working together to come up with
a business and organising yourselves into a structure?
3
• Be able to articulate the type of business you would go for and its implications
• Critically evaluate and discuss the various types of business structures and hone in on the most appropriate one for your business
• Identify and describe the various roles in an organisation
• Demonstrate an understanding of what is a customer need and how you would satisfy them
• Work through group dynamics to come up with a robust business & structure
Learning outcomes of this seminar
Agenda for this seminar
The various roles in the organisation each of you would take on
Consider what the customer need is and how your company is going to satisfy it?
What have you learnt about working together to come up with a business and organising yourselves into a structure?
The type of business and structure you would go for
Structure for the session
You will have 15 minutes to
discuss each question
We will have a de-brief at the end of each 15 minutes to hear your thoughts on each area
Feel free to ask questions but please do not have separate conversations ‘we are all in
this together’!
So if you could start a business what would it be?
Richard Branson
'Above all, you want to create something you're proud of. This has always been my philosophy of business. I can honestly say that I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If that is the sole motive, then I believe you are better off not doing it.'
More importantly ask yourself why?
To develop a product they wanted but couldn't find
To build a better company
They came up with a real
breakthrough!
What would your vision be for your business?
“An ideal that…represents or
reflects the shared values to which the organisation should
aspire”
Kirkpatrick, Wofford and Baum, 2002:139
Our vision is a world where everyone can be connected
We bring good things to life
Be, and be recognised as, the best consumer products and
services company in the world
Which Company?
Nokia
GE
P&GSource: Palmer, Dunford and Akin, 2009
What business would you choose ?
What type would it be?
Start with: What is the problem you are trying to solve
What really inspires me is my students energy and curiosity but they have no framework
If I fly and the experience is not a pleasant
one, then I think, well
maybe I can create the
airline I’d fly on
You must be crazy to think of
selling cell phones to the poor… yet it
has emerged as a source of social and economic change
David KelleyFounder of Stanford D
School
Richard BransonFounder Virgin Group
Mohammad YunusFounder Grameen Bank
They all drive towards a purpose and a vision
What do these have in common?
“If I fly on somebody else’s airline and find the experience is not a pleasant one, which it wasn’t 21 years ago, then I think, well maybe I can create the kind of airline that I’d like to fly on. So I got a second hand 747 from Boeing and gave it a go!”
Change the way something is currently done?
Create something that has never been done before?
“To end global poverty”
Ask yourselves – What are we looking to cause in the world?
Would you start a profit or not for profit?
Making money is a happiness. And that’s a great incentive. Making other people happy is a super-happiness.
Muhammad YunusFounder of the Grameen Bank
As long as your going to be thinking anyway – think big
Donald Trump
What are the implications of your structure?
• Purpose of serving the interests of a specific cause
• Profits re-invested
• Governed by board/trustees
• Favourable taxes
• Government subsidies
• Purpose of maximising shareholder value
• Profits distributed amongst shareholders
• Owned by shareholders
• Corporation tax
Consider the size you want your organisation to be… what are the pros and cons of each?
Consider the functions of
the organisation- what would each of you
do?
What are the functions in an organisation?
Marketing Leader/Legacy Sales
Finance Operations Legal
Consider the type of person you are…
Creative Numbers Logical
Organised Presenter Methodical
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
Steve JobsFounder Apple
What role do you feel passionately about?
Make sure your team has all the skills you need…
As an individual you are a drop… as a team you are the ocean
Consider the customer
need and how your company
is going to satisfy it
Firstly consider the difference between…
A Need A Want An Aspiration
+
Customer InsightUnderstanding your customers and
their needs
Market InsightUnderstanding the gap in the
market
Centred around an insight and ability to deliver a solution
Know what you know first Squeeze the value out of the information we have about how customers behave
Put yourself in your customers shoesInterview and observe customers in their normal surroundings
Give yourself time to thinkInsights come when you least expect them
Keep diggingInsight discovery isn't easy, but keep going
Test the insight in actionWhen you think you’ve found an insight, think about where it could take you. Make sure it is actionable
How do you discover an insight? Direct Line’s View
How is your company going to solve the problem? An education example…
What have you learnt
about teamwork?
Working in teams makes you more successful
Key to make sure everybody has a role and does not pull each other down
Appendix – Sources for illustrations
Slide 6:www.virgin.com
Slide 7:Facebook, Virgin and Dyson websites
Slide 11:www.virginatlantic.com & www.grameenbank.com
Slide 12:www.grameenbank.com & www.wikipedia.org
Slide 13:www.ladieswholaunch.com & www.wikipedia.org
Slide 14:www.heatspring.com
Slide 16:www.appl.com
Slide 17: www.wikipedia.org
Slide 20:www.pingdom.com
Slide 18:www.apple.com
Slide 19:www.asme.org
Slide 21:www.wikipedia.org
Slide 22www.brandpackaging.com
Slide 24www.pearsoncollege.com
Slide 27:www.fabeetle.com
Slide 28: www.atongwalli.com
End of Seminar
Note: This recording is for your personal use only and not for further distribution or wider review.
© Pearson College 2013