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Organizing Your Business
by Ron Kurtus (revised 20 November 2011)
A first step in improving your business is to make sure it is well organized. It is surprising how many businesses have been careless about this step. Some such companies may be mildly successful, but they could be even more profitable if they paid attention to the basics of organization.
Questions you may have include:
- How do you get started organizing your business?
- What methods can be used?
- What are the ultimate benefits of doing this?
This lesson will answer those questions.
Starting point
Whether you are starting a new company or improving an existing one, it is important to have a business mission, concept, and vision.
You need to define the purpose or mission of your business. Much of this has to do with the motivations of the leadership. Then you must have a business concept, model, or terrific idea of some product or service that will sell. Finally, in order to improve, you must have a vision or goal of where you want to end up.
Details of these factors are explained in the next lesson Mission, Concept and Vision.
Organization methods
Once you have established or re-defined the groundwork for your business, you can use various methods and standards to improve the operation and organization of your business.
ISO 9000 standards
A very good way to organize the way your business operates is by following the ISO 9000 standards. You do not necessarily have to become certified in ISO 9000, but you can still use the standards as a guide in how to effectively operate your business.
(Details are explained in later lessons in: Organize Your Business with ISO 9000.)
Re-engineering
Re-engineering has been a management fad in recent years. Unfortunately, it has been misapplied and used as a way to eliminate workers. A business or company that has been in existence for a while usually has an operation structure in place. It may be necessary to drastically alter that structure and re-organize and become more effective.
Benefits
Organizing is a form of planning. It has been shown that setting a good structure can make any organization more effective and efficient.
Good organization results in reducing losses due to duplicate work or unclear objectives. All personnel do better work, because they know what they should be doing and what their place is in the scheme of things.
A well-run company is in a stronger position in the competitive marketplace. Not only are profits higher, but repeat business is enhanced.
Summary
Setting your mission, core competencies, and vision is a first step to organizing your business for improvement. Following ISO 9000 sets your business in the correct direction. Finally, re-engineering or re-organizing may be necessary to start your business in becoming a champion in its field. The benefits are increased profits and customers.
A complex organization needs to be organized
Resources and references
The following are resources on this subject:
Websites
Total Quality Management (TQM)
Books
Questions and comments
Do you have any questions, comments, or opinions on this subject? If so, send an email with your feedback. I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.
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Organizing Your Business