This paper seeks to discuss various aspects of a business. The paper first discusses various pros and cons of a partnership form of business. It then goes on to list various methods that can be employed for financing a business. This is followed by discussing various components of the process of marketing and the role of social responsibility and technology in marketing.
PROS AND CONS OF A PARTNERSHIP
Depending upon the involved circumstances and various other business considerations, business partnerships can prove either good or bad. Following are some pros and cons of business partnerships (Rhonda, 2003):
Pros
Shared Cost- One of the biggest advantages of a business partnership is that it enables partners to share business start up costs. This does not just help reduce financial pressures on a single person, but allows people to take greater risks.
Responsibilities and work- Selecting partnership as a form of business enables partners to share work load and take up responsibilities that they are more comfortable handling.
Risks- Business partnerships don’t just help partners share start-up costs and business responsibilities but also help distribute business risks among partners. This prevents a single person from bearing the entire risk of failure of a business.
Skills and Contacts- Partnerships enable a business to benefit from complementary skills and contacts of business partners. This helps a business achieve greater financial results.
Motivation and Mutual support- Business partners can benefit from the mutual support and motivation that they receive from each other.
Cons
Joint responsibility- In a partnership, both partners are jointly and equally responsible for all business activities. If one of the partners drops out for any reason, the other would be responsible for all debts of the business (not just for half).
Profits- Like risks and responsibilities, all profits made by the business are also divided equally among partners.
Control- Partnerships lead to lack of total control in business. All decisions require mutual consent and mutual differences among partners might affect business decisions.
Friendships- Partnerships formed on the basis of friendships might not last long.
FUNDING OPTIONS
There are various options available for financing small businesses. Some of these are (Rhonda, 2003):
Family and Friends- For new and small businesses, family and friends act as good source of finance as they are far less concerned about the business owner’s credit source and expected rate of return. However, it is advisable to prepare a business plan and carefully approach this source for financing or problems might occur at a later stage.
Credit cards- These also act as good sources of finance as and when short term financing is required. Keeping a few credit cards handy with no balance on them and paying them off regularly allows a person to have a 30 to 60 day ‘float period’ without any interest. Prolonged balance or usage for long term financial purposes may however harm the business.
Bank Loans- Needs of a business could be evaluated and banks can be approached accordingly. Bank loans (depending on their size and owner’s credibility) might require a guarantee to be submitted to the bank.
Leasing- This option can be helpful in financing business requirements if the business deals in big ticket items such as computers, equipment and vehicles etc.
Private Lenders- This is a viable funding option in case the banks say ‘no’. Private lenders specialize in various industries and are usually willing to finance higher risk projects than banks if they see potential in the business owner.
MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING
Managerial accounting helps managers within an organization to utilize accounting information in order to make informed decisions. Managerial accounting takes into account various aspects other than just the financial aspect (Kotler, 2010). For example, managerial accounting takes into consideration the time taken for producing each unit of the product. Additionally, managerial accounting takes into consideration the tools used for product manufacture and labour cost that goes into production of each unit of the product. These factors help in better estimating cost of a product and budgeting for it as labour and time factors are equally important as the financial factors related to production (Kotler, 2010) .
COMPONENTS OF A MARKETING PROCESS
There are various components of the entire process of marketing such as the product itself, price, place and promotion. These components are demonstrated with the help of an example of a mobile phone (Kotler, 2010)
Product- The product in this case is the physical handset (or the mobile phone device). This handset is manufactured by various companies such as Nokia, Apple, Sony, Samsung, Motorola etc. Additionally, handsets are available in various sizes, colours and types (flip phones, sliders, QWERTY, touch panels etc). Further, these handsets are enabled with a lot of features such as internet connectivity, Microsoft Office, music player, camera etc.
Price- The price of these handsets depends depending upon various aspects such as the company which made them, their model, launch time, demand, features, target market etc. Typically, mobile phone devices fall in the price range of $100 to $500.
Place- Mobile phone devices are available in designated stores such as Nokia outlets. Additionally, these are also made available in multispecialty stores such as Best Buy. Also, these devices are available online on company websites as well as websites hosted by common electronic stores.
Promotion- Various media are employed in order to promote mobile phone devices such as TV Ads, Print Media Ads, banners and hoardings, direct promotion, door to door selling etc.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND TECHNOLOGY
While marketing its products, a company should pay appropriate attention towards its social responsibilities (Kotler, 2010). Fulfilling social responsibilities can help create and market a positive image of the company. This shall help generate trust in the company’s products. Marketing that a company has successfully fulfilled its social responsibilities helps in keeping off undesirable media attention (Kotler, 2010).
Technological tools help the overall process of marketing of a company. Technology enables an organization to adopt direct marketing channels, send promotional messages and obtain electronic queries, orders and feedbacks from customers (Kotler, 2010). Thus, the role of technology in a business cannot be ignored (Kotler, 2010).
REFERENCES
Rhonda, A. (2003). Succeeding in Business: Secrets and Strategies. Journal of International Business, 43(2), 321-354
Kotler, P. (2010). Marketing Management. Prentice Hall: New Jersey
