Aims and Objectives
In all businesses it is important to have aims and objectives. An aim is a goal that the business wants to achieve. A business may have only one aim or several aims.
- In a private sector, businesses aim to make a profit. Public sector businesses aim to make a profit if possible.
- All businesses aim to provide goods and/or services
- When times are difficult the business usually aims to survive
- Some businesses aim to grow
- But often businesses aim to maximise sales.
Businesses also need to decide what steps to take to achieve their aims and set targets or objectives along the way. For instance a business may try to:
- Sell more products than its competitors
- Provide more services than its competitors
- Provide new goods or provide a new service
- Improve a product or service
Business Activity
Business activity refers to the operations carried out by a particular organisation – the type of goods it produces, the services it offers, whether it provides only goods or only services, or both.
Many organisations are involved in more than one activity, but the main one is known as its core business. This is the activity on which everything else depends. You need to be able to identify the core business activity as well as any other activities in which a business is involved. The main types of business activity include:
- Producing raw goods
- Manufacturing of goods
- Sales of goods
- Client services
- Other services
Functional Areas within Business
All businesses need to be well organised to achieve their aims and objectives. Certain tasks or functions must be done regulary and these are usually grouped into specific types of activities.
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Customer services – provides information, advice and after sales service, and deals with customers’ complaints.
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Administration and IT support – all businesses receive information daily, in many different ways. This must be dealt with quickly so that customers and suppliers receive prompt answers.
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Marketing and sales – responsible for producing goods and services by making the best use of resources. In a manufacturing company, it may be known as a production, manufacturing or works department.
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Human resources – relates to people who work for the organisation. You would contact the human resources department if you were applying for a job there.
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Research and development – concerned with technological and scientific developments which can improve the product in the future. This is important in many industries such as cars and pharmaceuticals.
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Finance – responsible for checking the money going in and out of a business. If there are any problems, action must be taken swiftly. Computers and IT mean financial transactions can be recorded immeditally and analysed.
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Operations – responsible for producing goods and services by making the best use of resources. In a manufacturing company, it may be known as the production, manufacturing, or works department.
Business Communication
In all businesses it is important that they communicate with both customers and suppliers. Some communications will be internal – they are sent to a person within the organisation. Others will be external and sent to people working for a different organisation.
There are four main methods of communication:
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Oral – such as telephone, meetings, telephone conferencing
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Video – such as a video conferencing, internet video link
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Written – such as memos, letters, financial documents, advertisements and email attachments.
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Graphical – such as production drawings, graphics on screen or graphics sent over the internet.
Business Ownership
There are six different types of business ownership. These are:
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Sole trader Owned and run by one individual.
Advantages Easy to start a business.
Sole trader is his/her own boss.
Quick decisions are made.
Financial affairs and accounts of the sole trader are private.
Disadvantages Long working hours may be necessary.
Success is dependant on the skills the owner has.
Can be difficult to raise capital.
Unlimited liability for all debts.
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Partnerships Owned and run by two or more people.
The maximise number of people allowed in a partnership is twenty.
Advantages Any problems or worries can be shared and discussed.
More skills and ideas than a single person.
More capital can be raised as all partners contribute.
Partners with different skills can specialise in own areas.
Disadvantages Partners may not always agree.
Profits must be shared.
All partners must be consulted before making a decision.
Partners have unlimited labilaty for all debts.
- Private limited companies (LTD)
Often a family run business with the protection of limited liability.
Advantages Business can still remain small.
All shareholders have the protection of limited liability.
Can only lose what you put in.
Accounts remain private.
Disadvantages Limited companies have to comply with more regulations.
Owners must decide on the structure of the company and other details before formation can be agreed.
Owners must not choose a name which already exists.
Company must comply with all the requirements.
- Public limited companies (PLC)
Large organisations whose shares are traded on the stock exchange.
Advantages Capital is greatly increased due to more shareholders.
Can remain a small enterprise.
Large public company can achieve savings which smaller companies cannot.
Additional finance can be raised in several ways.
Disadvantages Public company must comply with external regulations.
Financial affairs are often reported in the media.
Shareholders often have different aims from the directors.
The original owners will lose much of their control over the company, even if they retain some shares .
- Co – operatives (co – op)
Where a large group of people run the enterprise together and share the profits or losses.
Advantages Each worker has an equal share in the business.
Each person has equal share of the profits.
Decisions are made jointly by the owners.
Workers are not forced to be owners.
Disadvantages Suppliers may be reluctant to provide goods on credit for the same reason.
Decision making can take a long time if everyone is involved.
Members often lack financial and business skills.
Banks are often wary of lending money to
co – operatives because there is no recognised leader.
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Franchises Where a large organisation allows a person to sell its products and use its name in exchange for a fee and a share of the profits.
Advantages When the name is well known, franchises have a higher success rate then other small businesses.
There are fewer decisions to make.
Most of the profit is retained by the owner.
It is easier to retain capital from the bank.
Disadvantages Some of the profit must be paid to the franchisor.
The owner does not have the freedom to make all the decisions.
Only the franchisor’s products or services can be sold.
The terms of the franchise agreement are drawn up by the franchisor.
Business Location
All businesses need:
- People to work for them – in some cases, the workforce must have particular skills
- Supplies to sell or raw materials to produce their products
- Customers to buy the goods or services
- To keep their operating costs as low as possible.
These factors will influence a business’s choice in location. In some cases, one factor may conflict woth another. For instance, it is impossible to locate near to both suppliers and customers if supplies come from Scotland and need to decide which are the most important factors in relation to its operations.
External Influences on Business
The main point about external influences is not that they exist but the extent to which they may affect a particular business and how that business responds to them.
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Business competitors may bring out a more advanced or cheaper product or offer a better service. Today, most businesses operate in a competitive market. This means that there are many suppliers offering a similar service or product. This gives consumers more choice and helps to keep prices low.
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Economic conditions can affect the price of goods and the ability of customers to buy goods and services. Customers are tempted to buy more goods when they have money to spend or when borrowing is cheap because interest rates are low. Equally, businesses are more likely to increase production and to expand their operations when sales are high and when they think the situation is likely to continue. This is known as a buoyant economy.
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Environmental constraints affect the way in which the business is allowed to carry out its operations and dispose of waste materials. In recent years, many laws have been passed to help to protect the environment, including the control and regulation of pollution, the use of resources and the disposal of waste.
Aims, objectives and activities
Albany lodge has really only one aim and that is to become the preferred accommodation provider in the North Antrim area and in particular Portrush. The main objectives help meet this aim. They can do this by
- becoming a well known as a provider of luxury guest accommodation by way of gaining awards and ratings from professional bodies.
- to achieve and maintain a high level of guest satisfaction.
- To provide guests with an experience that they want to share with their friends and other prospective guests
- To effectively market Albany Lodge both nationally and internationally with the aim of increasing the number of guests staying.
Business Activity
Functional Areas Within The Business
Business Communication
Business Ownership
Business Location
Albany lodge is located in the town centre of Portrush – Eglinton Street. Albany Lodge was relocated and renamed about three years ago. The original location of Ramore court was in Princess Street now known as Albany Lodge was near the Lansdown recreational grounds in Portrush. The reason for relocation was off wanting more of a challenge and somewhere bigger, resulting in the buying over of Mount Royal.
External Influences on Business
