...Running head: TECHNOLOGY'S IMPACT ON SMALL BUSINESSES Technology's Impact on Small Businesses ENG 107 - English Composition I Abstract In recent years, technology has played a significant role in evolving how business is conducted. This statement is not limited to any single industry. Almost every business, from a high-grossing stock brokerage firm to a child running a lemonade stand on the sidewalk in front of his or her home, can capitalize on the benefits which modern technology can provide. By embracing such technologies, businesses can flourish and maintain their competitiveness in a fast-paced business environment. Technology's Impact on Small Businesses Small businesses have become more efficient through the use of various technologies. Certain technologies have made it possible for small businesses to use more expeditious forms of communication. Many small businesses have also gained a tremendous amount of exposure with the ability to place their products/services on display to a much larger audience via cyberspace. Internally, small business have also been provided the ability to streamline many tasks, which would otherwise require more time and/or manpower. Harnessing the power of such technologies can help businesses speed up their operations, while cutting costs at the same time. Newer, more proficient communication methods are now being used by businesses of every scale. Unlike snail mail...
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...Introduction Even though small businesses in Zambia may not generate as much money as large establishments, they are a very important component of and a major provider to the strength of the Zambian local economy .This paper discusses the roles of small businesses in the economic development of Zambia. It aims to shed light on some of the challenges faced by most Zambian entrepreneurs as well as explain how entrepreneurs can develop for themselves a competitive advantage. It will further go on to identify and explain some entrepreneurial characteristics of our local entrepreneurs, while finally shedding light on how business opportunities are created. Role of Small Businesses in Zambia’s Economy According to the June 2010 Zambian Business Survey, it was noted that 80 % of the private sector in Zambia are small businesses with less than 50 employees. “These firms constitute the bulk of private sector employment in Zambia, employing 73% of the total labor force”. (Conway and Shah, JUNE 2010). Small businesses such as car washes, Beauty parlors, restaurants and small scale farmers open way for new employment opportunities and serve as building blocks of Zambia’s largest establishments. Not only do these small businesses offer employment opportunities, they also in turn assist in addressing some of Zambia’s key economic challenges such as Poverty reduction as well as increasing Government revenue collection. Additionally, small businesses in the agricultural sector add...
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...Small Businesses Contributing to Charity: Are Tax Deductions the Only Advantage? Introduction “Despite significant progress made in some developing countries, almost half the current world population continues to live in poverty. The world population today stands at about 6.6 billion people and is expected to grow to at least 9.2 billion by the year 2050” (Leisinger, 2007). Giving to non-profit organizations not only helps United States citizens, but people all over the world. Without individuals, large corporations, and small businesses donating to nonprofit organizations the poverty population will only increase. What is a Small Business? “To be considered a small business on average the company has to have no more than 500 employees, and the most any small business can have is 1,500 employees (U. S. Small Business Administration, 2014).” When people think about small businesses, they think of the mom and pop stores within their community. However, small businesses are the majority of whom customers give their business. “According to the United States Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy, 99.7 percent of all U.S. firms are small businesses (Cooper, 2012).” What is a Nonprofit Organization? A non-profit organization is an organization whose efforts are driven to generate a profit for a chosen cause. Non-profit organizations can be classified into five central categories: trade associations, charitable organizations, social clubs, government...
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...EEOC Impact on Small Businesses Southern New Hampshire University MBA 610 Business Law Unit 2-3 Short Paper Dr. Sheed W. Dahar II By Thomas W. Scalf EEOC Impact on Small Businesses Lawmakers realized a need for laws specifically designed to protect American workers. Over the years numerous laws and acts have been enacted to protect the Civil Rights of employees. The passage of these laws warranted the creation of an agency to regulate and enforce these laws. The Equal Employment Commission was established and tasked with the compliance monitoring and enforcement of these laws. However several areas of these laws created hardships on small businesses, which required the EEOC to treat small businesses differently than their larger counterparts. The small business fact sheet outlines the federal laws that are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The employment laws that fall under the EEOC jurisdiction would include: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination, Equal Pay, Americans Disability Act Titles I and IV (Small Business Fact Sheet, 2015). These laws protects American workers from being discriminated against on the basis of race, religion, age, sex, or nationality. Policy makers realized the extensive cost to businesses to be compliant with the EEOC laws would greatly hamper the sustainability and growth of small businesses. Also knowing that small businesses make up almost half of the economic landscape and generate...
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...This week’s case study involves issues related to health insurance that small businesses can face. John and Liza are small business owners who need to hire a new mechanic to work at their boat repair business. However, they are faced with a dilemma when it comes to hiring Robert, their best applicant; because his wife is ill and their already increasing insurance premiums will increase again. Their other employees have also contributed to the increasing premiums due to factors including age, gender and smoking. In order to hire Robert, John and Liza must weigh out their options and decide how to handle their premiums. John and Liza’s solutions could include giving incentives to those who quit smoking, asking the smokers to pay a larger portion of their health insurance costs or simply do nothing and incur the costs themselves. Another option is to divide the costs equally among all of the employees. Each option that John and Liza have as business owners has pros and cons associated with it. Their first option, to do nothing and incur the costs, will only make their financial situation worse. By hiring Robert, their premiums will rise again. With the couple absorbing the already increasing cost, hiring Robert will only put them in the hole more than they already are. In order to make the financial situation better, their best bet is to offer a small incentive to those mechanics that quit smoking. For the mechanics that choose to continue smoking, John and Liza could ask them to...
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...Human Resources Management Because of limited resources, many small businesses have difficulty recruiting & retaining top talent. In this paper, I will discuss how companies use indirect-financial incentives to gain a competitive advantage. How Small Businesses Provide Competitive Compensation Packages in a Global Environment. Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2 Salary vs. Compensation ..………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Indirect Financial Payments ……………………………………………………………………………….. 5 1. Employer Match Incentives 2. Cash Rewards 3. Flexible Hours 4. Tuition Reimbursement 5. Paid Time Off Employee Rewards …………………………………………………………………………….……………… 12 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………….……………… 13 INTRODUCTION In today’s workforce, small businesses—companies with 100 or less employees—are making a BIG impact. * There are more than 23 million small businesses in America--accounting for 54% of all U.S. sales. * Since the 1970s, small businesses have provided 55% of all jobs and 66% of all new jobs. * The 600,000 plus franchised small businesses in the U.S. account for 40% of all retail sales and provide jobs for some 8 million people. * The number of small businesses in the United States has increased 49% since 1982. * Since 1990, as big business eliminated 4 million jobs, small businesses added 8 million new jobs. Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial...
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...FINANCING SMALL SCALE BUSINESSES IN TAMALE TERMINOLOGIES 1. CAPITAL: Wealth owned by a Company in the form of money, stock or funds which is to be used for the creation of additional wealth. 2. DISCOUNT: A reduction made in the cost of buying items in bulk or for prompt payment. 3. EMPLOYEE: A person or someone who is paid regularly to work for a person or Organization 4. ENTERPRENEUR: A person who on his own account and initiative, makes the policy of a business and undertakes the financial risk. 5. INTEREST RATE: The specific sum of money which has to be paid for money borrowed. 6. NET ASSETS: The value of the resources of a company after deducting all liabilities 7. SHAREHOLDERS’ WORTH: The total assets of a business that belong to shareholders. It thus includes the value of all assets minus all liabilities. 8. PLOUGHED BACK PROFIT: To re-invest earnings in the business in order to develop or expand it. Table of Contents Page Declaration i Certification ii Dedication iii Acknowledgement iv Abstract v Terminologies vi Table of Contents vii CHAPTER ONE 1.1 Background of study 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem 5 1.3 Objective of the study 5 1.4 Significance of the study 6 1.5 Scope of the study 6 1.6 Methodology 6 1.7 Limitation 7 1.8 Chapter organization 7 CHAPTER TWO 2.1 Introduction...
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...Should all small businesses have a website? Introduction For this second assignment of the Study and Writing Skills class, we will be focusing on writing an essay. To do so, we had to chose one topic out of 5 give in class by out lecturer. Mine is about the need of small businesses to have a website. To do so, we will be discussing the pros and cons of a website to finally figure out if having one is useful or not for these small businesses. Small Business The term "Small Business" differentiates depending on the location. In fact, it has a range from 15 employees in Australia, 50 employees in the EU and under 500 employees in the US (Wikipedia, 2013). They might also be classified according to other factors such as net profits, sales, etc... Small Businesses are therefore more suitable to internet marketing, because they can niche into the marketplace. A niche market being the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing (Imhoof, 2013).This is why they are most of the time convenience stores, restaurants, small-scale manufacturing, hairdressers, layers, accountants, and so on. But, they can also be Online businesses such as web-design agency, programming, or Online retailers such as aftermarket car-parts sellers, clothing, etc... Reducing costs Having a website significantly decreases the operating costs. Depending on the type of business, it might lead to no leasing costs concerning the rental of premises, no or low inventory costs and...
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...Small business owners have defined success by quantity of distribution channels instead of the quality of distribution channels. They caught up in excitement of adding distributions channels network without calculating it would be profitable and productive for long term perspective of company. Andrew try to convinced for less number of profitable distributors instead of more in overhead supporting distributers. Due to they measured success by quantity, owners may engage in an ego issue. Small business owners compared their distributions to competitors for success and achievement. Due to such attitude, they always want to grow and expand distribution channels. He applied Pareto’s principle i.e. 80-20 rule to these distributors. It helps to realize that the majority of profit generate from minority of distribution channels. In other words, 80 percentages of profits generate from only 20 percent of distribution channels. It reminds to focus on the 20 percent that matters. Midwest company has around 800 distributors, if we applied Pareto principle only 160 distributors are profitable or might be less. Andrew’s arguments related to OM Quality Management concept. The Pareto principle applied is consistent with OM theory. Here it is applied for finding a profitable distribution channels whereas in OM, it is used for finding defects result from top categories. Basic concept of Pareto principle remains same. Small businesses have been heavily depends on a number of relationships...
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...sets out to evaluate the role that small businesses play in the economy of South Africa. It discusses the role of small businesses in creating jobs, developing of new products and new markets, the flexibility of small businesses to changing markets as well as their aggregate taxes. Promoting small businesses makes sense as an economic development strategy, but with some qualifications. Small businesses are potent job creators, but so are large businesses. The attribution of the bulk of net job creation to small businesses arises largely from relatively large job losses in large firms, not to especially robust job creation by small firms. More importantly, data show that large businesses offer better jobs than small businesses, on average, in terms of both compensation and stability. Further, there is little convincing evidence to suggest that small businesses have an edge over larger businesses in innovation. However, research and experience show that pursuing large businesses is likely to be a poor economic development strategy, which suggests that promoting and fostering small businesses may offer a more viable alternative. Small businesses also contribute to the tax returns in the country. Although their contribution is far lesser than those larger companies provide, it still counts. The competition that small businesses stimulate is a driving force in the economy, as well as a challenge to the larger companies. Background Reading Small, medium and micro-enterprise (SMME)...
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...INTRODUCTION The most bold and important of the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000 is to reduce world poverty to fifty percent by 2015. This according to Yunus (2008) can only be achieved if there is the adequate institutional, financial, and policy preparations for it. Emphasis on small business development will go a long way at achieving these goals. For example, Adelaja (2006) averred that interaction between Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operators is a factor for the development of SME’s in Nigeria. Anwatu (2006) opined that 75% of the private sector in Nigeria is dominated by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) reiterating that Organized Private Sector (OPS) is the engine of growth and creator of wealth and employment. The Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA, 2006) argued that Small businesses are the vehicle for rapid industrialization and development of any nation. Evidences have shown that for any small scale enterprise to be successful, owner manager must possess appropriate skills and abilities to run the business (Orisanaiye, 2000, Okpara and Wynn, 2007). It is therefore, very important for entrepreneurs in Nigeria to develop all necessary skills required for setting and effective running of the enterprises in order to contribute meaningfully to development and self reliance of the nation’s economy toward the achievement of the MDGs. To succeed in today’s competitive market...
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...INTRODUCTION Due to the introduction of the Big Box Format, many small business owners have been forced to close their doors, consequently leaving them in limbo with regards to how they are supposed to support their families. The Big Box Format of conducting business has stiffened competition in business as a whole. These Big Box Organizations have the ability to use their vast amount of resources to exploit market opportunities and neutralize threats, as well as take advantage of the economies of scale and scope. Subsequently, this report touches upon the large scope effects of the Big Box Format; as well as addresses certain strategies that small businesses could apply and if they are realistic. Big Box Firms are organizations that undermine local business as well as entrepreneurialism and innovation. They are composed of Firms that occupy a minimum of 50,000 square feet of land containing a wide variety products available for sale (Investopedia, 2013), therefore many consumers consider Big Box Firms as one stop shop. Subsequently, the Big Box Firms apply predatory marketing strategies, in which they highlight their ability to offer cost savings as well as convenience. FINDINGS Modern Concept, Classic View Although the Big Box format of conducting business can be considered somewhat of a modern business concept, the Big Box format contains certain elements that relate back to classic business theories. The way that these Big Box firms conduct business,...
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...Apply to Small Businesses After reviewing the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s website regarding laws as they apply to both small and large businesses, it was very surprising that the small businesses face specific challenges when it comes to employment law because of relatively small size of their workforces and budgets. Initially I thought both were scrutinized under the same laws but they are treated little different because of the fact that small businesses have less hiring capacity and they often have only a small fraction of the recruiting budget available to large businesses, which results in smaller businesses hiring much less frequently and possible much less diverse pools to choose from. Some of the areas that seem to differentiate both small & large businesses are workplace safety, corporate governance, business organization, health insurance, etc. The Small Business Administration has a standard regulations of 500 employees or less for a business to be considered Small Business. In this regard, it is very surprising that small business with total of 15 persons could be held to the same standards and regulations as other small business with 500 employees. Even though small businesses hire less frequently due budget constraints and limited employees, they are still required to take necessary steps to ensure that minorities are adequately represented within their ranks. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission works to ensure both small and large...
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...spirit is tougher.” - Nydia M. Velazquez Small businesses are starting up every day across the nation, new business founders are spewing with talented ideas, creating job opportunities as well as goods and services in hope to drive our economy back into good standing. Currently speaking, successful small businesses are a key strategy to increase our economy’s recovery stage. Small businesses lead our economy in many ways; not only are they fulfilling the needs, wants and desires of consumers, they are creating jobs as well as supporting banks and lending companies stay in business by borrowing money. All successful, big corporations were once small businesses and with high demand from consumers of its goods and services, the business is able to expand, create more revenue and hopefully become a successful, profitable company. The growth for small businesses in our economy is vital, especially during tough times of high unemployment rates. The SBA states, small business firms with fewer than 500 employees drives the U.S. economy by providing jobs for over half of the nation's private workforce as well as making up more than 99.7% of all employers. Also, small businesses are responsible for 75% of all new jobs within the economy. With those numbers, we see the importance in the growth of small businesses and why adequate funding should be tolerated within banks and lending companies at a reasonable interest rate in order for businesses to start up. Throughout this paper, I am going...
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...AN EVALUATION OF THE INTERNAL CONTROLS SYSTEM FOR CASH FOR THE CASE OF NAIROBI SMALL BUSINESSES BY CLEOPHAS MUSINGA A Management Research Project Submitted In Partial Fulfillment For The Requirements Of The Award Of Bachelor Of Commerce (BCOM), School Of Business, University Of Nairobi JULY, 2008 DECLARATION This research project is our own original work and has not been submitted for academic purposes in any institution of higher leaning. Name Number Sign CLEOPHAS MUSINGA D33/6646/05 ………………………….. This research project has been submitted for examination with my approval as the university supervisor Signed……………………………. Date…………………………………………. Mr. Abdulatif Essajee Lecturer University of Nairobi TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i CHAPTER ONE 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background of the study 1 1.2 Statement of the problem 5 1.3 Objectives of the study 6 1.4 Research questions 6 1.5 Scope of the study 6 1.6 Justification of the study 7 CHAPTER TWO 9 LITERARURE REVIEW 9 2.1 Evolution of internal controls 9 2.2 Components of Internal Controls 12 2.4 Relationship between a firm’s age and internal control 18 2.6 Internal controls in small businesses 19 CHAPTER THREE 21 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 21 3.1 Research design 21 3.2 Population 21 3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique 21 3.4 Data collection methods 22 3.5 Data analysis 22 CHAPTER FOUR 23 DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 23 4.1 Introduction...
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