Staffing and Financing New Enterprises

Staffing process of which I was a part focused on two primary considerations: first, the functionality of the employees within the organization and the need to ensure the new workers had the necessary qualifications to excel and secondly the extent to which the employees' personalities suited the organizational culture. In retrospect, I think there should have been a greater focus upon employees having the necessary interpersonal vs. technical skills. In fact, many organizations such as Southwest Airlines and Zappos primarily put an emphasis on hiring individuals with personalities well-suited to the organizational ethos vs. specific qualifications.

I also believe that during the hiring process there was too much focus on hiring people from within the industry rather than looking outside the box for more diverse experiences. Too much insularity can produce a cookie-cutter mentality within the organization that is not conducive to creativity. Even if people do not have industry-specific experience, if they have an excellent education or experience with entrepreneurship, this can signify an ambitious personality who is willing to go the extra mile in his or her position.

Finally, the question of creating attractive benefits packages can be problematic. As well as offering incentives like pay raises and promotional opportunities, the ability to work with a mentor and assume individual responsibility and direction over projects relatively recently in one's tenure at the organization is attractive to many top, young graduates right out of college. For an organization to attract the best and brightest, out-of-the-box thinking is needed to make a job offer suit the needs of people who are looking for jobs that excite their intellects. An organization wants employees who are looking for a vocation not simply a job that pays the bills and a transformational leadership ethic is required to achieve this. Once the right people are hired, the organization must continue to nurture them. "Meet your people individually to understand their developmental needs...help them to meet their career goals. What do they want to achieve in their role? Where do they see themselves five years from now? How can you help them reach this goal?" (Manktelow 2015).

Part 2: Components of staffing

It is essential that the organization view all components of staffing (recruitment, selection, and employment) from the perspective of the job applicant not HR. For example, simply because a salary is competitive within the organization does not mean that it is commensurate with what competitor organizations are offering top candidates. It is also important for HR to understand how it is framing the organization in terms of its self-presentation in the media. Google, Facebook, and Apple attract top candidates because they present themselves as fun organizations where new employees can grow and learn. Google specifically has tried to keep a start-up, 'Googley'-type atmosphere at the organization, disdaining hierarchies and fostering creativity, even while it has become one of the most successful multinationals in the world (Groysberg, Thomas, & Wagonfeld 2011). Innovative enterprises make it clear the employees enjoy working there and derive personal benefits from employment.

After employees are selected, the employment of workers itself must be managed to ensure that workers do not dread coming to the office every day. On a very simple, basic level, a happy employee is a productive employee. Training is also very expensive so companies have a vested interest in ensuring that they can retain top employees. Organizations must have an understanding of what makes employees stay and/or why they may be motivated to leave. This can only be determined by studying successful organizations, talking to employees, and framing workplace initiatives in terms of what benefits may be derived from workers, not simply the organization.

Even when it is a buyer's market in terms of selecting employees, organizations should not shirk their recruitment duties. Organizations should wish to hire the best candidates possible and good candidates will quickly leave if they are not satisfied when the market improves. Also, structuring the workplace in a manner which enhances productivity means catering to the needs of workers to grow and develop as people, not simply meet short-term performance goals.

Part 3: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

In a recent EEOC case, EEOC v. Rock-Tenn Services Co., members of a South Dallas mill paid $500,000 in damages to fourteen African-American employees who were subjected to a hostile work environment created by other employees, including racist graffiti and slurs. These included signs of the KKK, "swastikas, Confederate flags, 'white power' and other racist terms, including 'die, n-r, die,' as well as the display of nooses at an employee workstation" ("E-Race," 2012). Although these employees were not acting on behalf of the employer, the EEOC found that the company was effectively turning a blind eye to the harassment. "Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964… The employer is automatically liable for harassment by a supervisor that results in a negative employment action such as termination, failure to promote or hire, and loss of wages" ("Harassment," 2015). In this instance, the harassment was sufficiently onerous that it proved to be almost impossible for employees to do their jobs in an effective manner.

Employers should have a strict policy prohibiting displays of potentially offensive racist images. This policy should be specific, including specifically banning displays of Confederate flags. All employees should be informed of this nondiscriminatory policy as part of the hiring interview, so that acceptable attitudes are clearly communicated early on during the hiring process. A thorough workplace orientation in sensitivity to historically discriminated-against groups is essential. Managers should also regularly monitor the workplace to ensure that workplace violations do not take place and there should be swift disciplinary action against any violators, to ensure that there are consequences for ignoring stated policies. Managers must do more than simply comply with the letter of federal civil rights law; they must set the tone for the rest of the organization.

Part 4: Developing Business Opportunities

Ideally, finding a partner means finding someone that has a similar, complementary worldview in regards to the proposed organization. My first source of candidates would be people I knew from previous employment or schooling whose talents and qualifications complemented mine yet who did not have exactly the same skill set as myself. The candidate's personality should also be such that we worked well together and would contribute in a positive way to the organizational culture we are trying to build. I would not simply select my friends but I would select someone who is compatible with me in a professional level. Access to capital and industry connections would be an obvious bonus. Of course, there is the downside of losing a friendship if the venture does not work out.

One of the reasons that finding the right person is so important is the challenges which can arise if the partner does not work out. For example, if he or she was instrumental in raising capital, investors might not be as interested in the new project with a single individual at the helm. There are legal ramifications about co-signing for loans and opening up the business with two names equally involved in the business. To undercut this risk and the dangers of having to do costly legal work or buy the other person out, the best option for a business is often to create an LLC (limited liability corporation) so the future of the organization is not directly tied to the two owners. "A limited liability company is a hybrid type of legal structure that provides the limited liability features of a corporation and the tax efficiencies and operational flexibility of a partnership" ("LLC," 2015). While the LLC is taxed like a single or joint proprietorship through its members, it is relatively easy to simply allow one of the members to step aside, given that the name and status of the LLC is not legally synonymous with its owners or founders.

Part 5: Entrepreneurship stages

The five stages of entrepreneurship involve developing the idea for the organization; creating a business plan; actually forming the business; growing the business; and eventual incorporation or dissolution of the business (Silver 2015). The most critical component of the process is the development of the business plan. Without a good business plan, it is impossible to grow the business in a financially sustainable way or to have a clear sense of the future customer base. "A business plan is not just required to secure funding at the start-up phase, but is a vital aid to help you manage your business more effectively. By committing your thoughts to paper, you can understand your business better and also chart specific courses of action that need to be taken to improve your business" (Gleeson 2015). No matter how good the idea for the business or even how popular the product, the business must have a strategy of how to balance costs with incoming profits and know how to market itself and select investment opportunities. During the first year of a business' operations, investments in its infrastructure are particularly critical. Having a plan ensures the organization is able to engage in proper resource allocation.

At times the business may need to rethink its strategy or even its value proposition but it must always have a plan and a sense of direction. The greatest idea in the world cannot be executed without a sound grounding in reality and success will only be temporary if a business not have a good idea of what type of value it is offering its customers. In some rare instances a business may have a good idea and some early success and only generate a formal plan after it has begun to grow but the plan must occur during the organizations' nascent stages to be truly effective.

Part 6: MBE

The Minority Entrepreneur (MBE) website enables individuals who are unlikely to come from business family dynasties and who may not have sources of much available capital to connect with other businesses and supportive groups. It also provides a wellspring of resources for companies with potentially innovative new ideas. For example, Ladders & Things, LLC offers rental and for-sale customized ladders which meet safety requirements to businesses. Connecting via the business opportunities section of the MBE website can empower businesses such as Ladders & Things to connect with other organizations that might need its services such as Northrop Grumman Information Systems, one of whose specializations is in new construction and who might benefit from outsourcing its ladders to ensure compliance with safety standards (MBE, 2015). Social networking can be an important fill-in for longstanding personal connections that minority entrepreneurs might lack.

Social networking can take the form of personal networking: individuals with common interests; generating social networks amongst customers through online resources such as Twitter and Facebook; and professional networking between organizations. This type of direct and concentrated networking is what sites like MBE excel at, versus the wider and generalized 'net' cast by social media. Particularly for B2B networking, sites like MBE can prove useful. However, partnering with social media organizations can still prove useful. For example, Free Your Mane products, an all-natural line of haircare products aimed at African-American women could partner with Oprah's media network as a way of gaining greater exposure for its base ("Free your mane," 2015). Oprah could benefit from using such a partnership to capitalize upon the positive image of the business owners (who adopted African-American children and wanted to create products specifically 'for them) creating innovative businesses to serve the community through entrepreneurship, in addition to the organic angle -- the products are marketed as better for hair because of their use of nontoxic and gentle, natural products.

Part 7:"Are You Innovative"

According to Forbes magazine, innovative entrepreneurs are "regularly asking provocative questions, observing the world like anthropologists, networking with diverse people to get new ideas, experimenting to figure out novel solutions, and connecting the typically unconnected insights to create disruptive new business ideas… They question, observe, network, and experiment day-in and day-out to generate new ideas" (Dyer & Gregerson 2012).

There are many unexpected online resources for creatively-minded entrepreneurs beyond such generic strategies of seeking to 'disrupt' the macro economy. For example, resources could include looking at 'comments' made about existing products on Amazon.com to determine what consumers within the target market are lacking. Many entrepreneurs derive their business ideas from their personal passions (such as the owner of a personal training studio geared specifically to women) or personal experiences (such as the founder of Hard Candy nail polish, who was frustrated with the lack of unusual shades available like light blue and made her own, spawning both a new company and a beauty trend) (Wischhover 2015).

Although organizations such as the Small Business Association (SBA) may provide general information resources to start-ups, often it is doing specific research within the industry which is more helpful. For example, according to Bloomberg Business, one of the most recent examples of a successful organization has been the Campbell company, "which makes streamlined accounting software for sole proprietors" and which began when the founders spoke with small clients that were unhappy with QuickBooks and Excel which were overly complex for their needs (Barrett 2009).

Part 8: Marketing

An effective marketing analysis shows an understanding of both the strengths and weaknesses of the product. One of the most useful tools to use to analyze the prospective market for a product is a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. As well as understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the product, this helps give a picture of competitors and how they measure up to the value proposition offered by the organization. "What makes SWOT particularly powerful is that, with a little thought, it can help you uncover opportunities that you are well-placed to exploit. And by understanding the weaknesses of your business, you can manage and eliminate threats that would otherwise catch you unawares" (Manktelow 2015).

In general, there are four basic marketing strategies open to a company. A company can offer a low-price, general marketing strategy, thus primarily competing on price. A good example of this are big box stores like Wal-Mart. Companies using high-price general marketing strategies seek to attract a large market but offer luxury goods in terms of product positioning (these would include high-end department stores like Barney's or expensive, luxury hotels and restaurants). Companies using low-price niche marketing strategies focus on a narrow market but still stress the value proposition offered to the customer. Examples of these products would include online stores such as the discounted Running Warehouse, which offers shoes at a bargain primarily to serious runners. Companies using high-price niche marketing strategies would include online travel companies like Equitours which specifically cater to individuals who horseback ride looking for luxury vacations.