A SIMPLE YET HIGHLY EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT PROCESS FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The evolutionary new PICA Management Process follows a simple philosophy and comprises of four key pillars:
Plan
Implement
Control
Analyse
SWOT ANALYSIS
A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) will help improve the performance of your business. It is an activity that essentially allows a business to look at itself in a mirror. This will be a far more effective process if the whole team is involved – base line employees through to management!
A SWOT analysis should include all aspects of the existing business structure, including management and personnel, products and services, markets, organisational systems and processes, the condition and adequacy of plant and machinery, financial position and taxation planning, external advisers and suppliers, and any other activity that has a direct affect on the organisation.
Check List
The following are examples of SWOT analysis considerations:
Are your products?
Unique
High quality
Brand recognised
Competitively priced
Technically excellent
Guaranteed/ warranties
Maintained/serviced
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
KPI’s are critical to the evaluation and continuous improvement process of any individual or business. They provide instant feedback to management and allowing them to build on strengths and continuously introduce remedies to overcome weaknesses
KPI’s detect business discrepancies in their infancy, meaning you can implement new strategies immediately to rectify or remove the identified issue or bottleneck. It is essential to establish both financial and non-financial KPI’s for all areas of the businesses operations, including planning, marketing, quality control and maintenance. KPI’s should be used by management to ensure the achievement of the required business levels in terms of quality, cost and delivery
NON-FINANCIAL KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
With the replacement of the vertical type organisation to a far flatter structure, and with greater employee involvement in decision making, both financial and non-financial measurements are becoming popular in small to medium-sized businesses. For example, information on the number and nature of customer complaints is essential. How many patrons (customers) visit your company on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, and at what times do they visit? All of this information is invaluable in determining if the business is achieving its optimal results.
ANALYSIS
A process of isolating various components to acquire a better understanding of any variations so that corrective measures can be introduced. Analysis involves analysing all aspects of the business operations to extract information that can facilitate effective decision-making. For example, an analysis of the Financial Statements can reveal if a business is on target to achieve its projected profit or not. Although this information is of an historical nature, the purpose of analysing it is to arrive at recommendations and forecasts for the future, rather than providing a picture of past performance.
Comments