Improve Your Business: Workbook (ILO, 1986, 96 p.) FOR YOU IN BUSINESS (introduction...) How to use this Workbook Part 1 - Questions Part 2 - Business practice Part 3 - Action programme

Improve Your Business: Workbook (ILO, 1986, 96 p.)

FOR YOU IN BUSINESS

It is for you in business that we have written Improve your business. Why? Because one of the difficulties of business owners or managers who have been running their businesses for some time is that they become “blind” to what is happening. They have done things in the same way for so long that they cannot see where they are going wrong or where money is being lost because they are doing things badly.

Figure

Have you ever invited a friend into your business, and he or she looks round and says: “Why do you still do things like that? You are wasting money.” And you say: “You are quite right. We have been doing things this way for a long time and I never thought about changing.”

This Workbook is trying to be your “business friend” and to make you see some of the things going on in your business with new eyes. Then it tries to help you do something about putting things right.

How to use this Workbook

You can use the material yourself or together with others. You should use it regularly, especially if you feel that something is wrong in the business or needs improvement.

YOUR WORKBOOK, YOUR BUSINESS FRIEND

PART 1 - QUESTIONS

HOW TO USE THIS WORKBOOK

FIRST ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

In the first part of each section of the Workbook you will find a number of questions. These questions are related to the corresponding section in the Handbook. You can answer the questions with “yes” or “no”. The questions have been chosen so that the answers will show the strong and weak points of your business. Think carefully about each question and see whether you can do something to make things better. Do not try to go through the Workbook quickly. Take one section at a time.

PART 2 - BUSINESS PRACTICE

NEXT COMPLETE THE EXERCISES

Use this part of the Workbook to understand the financial and practical sides of your business better. You do this by completing simple exercises in business practice. If you have any difficulties in completing the exercises or if you want to learn more, read the corresponding section in the Handbook. Then you will be able to do all the exercises easily.

PART 3 - ACTION PROGRAMME

FINALLY TAKE ACTION TO SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS

When you have worked through the questions and business practice, you will have found some things in your business which could be done better. The final step is to take action. Use the action programme part of the Workbook for this.

Part 1 - Questions

START HERE!

	Yes	No
1. Do you sell goods to others?
2. Do you sell services to others?
3. Are you a retailer?
4. Are you a wholesaler?
5. Are you a manufacturer?
6. Do you operate a service business?
If one or more of your answers is “yes”, then you are in business and it is for you that we have written Improve your business.
7. Do you know what assets are?
8. Do you know the difference between your private assets and your business assets?
9. Do you know the difference between money in and profit?
10. Write down what you think is the difference between money in and profit in the space below.

Part 2 - Business practice

1. Put a tick (Ö) against those items in the list below which you think belong to a business and not to the owner or his or her family:

a cutting machine
the contents of a cash register
a cousin of the owner
raw materials like wood and nails
a bill for school fees to be paid
a two-ton lorry
hens in a hen-run

Figure

2. Complete these statements about how profit is made.

Figure

If you had any difficulties in answering the questions, study the section of the Handbook entitled “For you in business”.

Now that you have completed the business practice exercises, turn to the page which follows the action programme. There you will find the answers. Check your answers against the answer solutions which are given on that page. How many correct answers did you get?

CHECK YOUR ANSWERS!

THEN GO TO THE HANDBOOK FOR MANAGEMENT IDEAS

Now go to the Handbook and read thoroughly the management ideas in the same section there. You will then find that all the business practice exercises become easier to answer.

Part 3 - Action programme

HOW TO CONSTRUCT YOUR ACTION PROGRAMME

Count the number of times you answered “yes” or “no” for questions 7-10 above. How many times did you answer “yes”? The more “yes” answers, the better you are in business management. Now look again at those questions you answered with “no”. Those are possible problem areas in your business. Choose the one which you think is the most important for your business. Take the most urgent problem first. Don't try to solve everything at once.

Now write the problem into the action programme opposite, as we have done with the example. Then write in What must be done, By whom and By when in order to solve your problem.

Finally, go back to your business and carry out the action programme.

Figure

Problem	What must be done?	By whom?	By when?
Example:
Need to know how to improve my business.	Look at the section called “for you in business” in the Handbook and read the management ideas there.	Myself	After work TODAY

ANSWERS TO BUSINESS PRACTICE

1.	a cutting machine Ö
	the contents of a cash register Ö
	a cousin of the owner
	raw materials like wood and nails Ö
	a bill for school fees to be paid
	a two-ton lorry Ö
	hens in a hen-run

Of course the answer will depend on the kind of business you have. For example, if you raise poultry, the hens in the hen-run will be a part of your business.

2.	Money in - Money out = Profit
	More money in - Money out = More profit
	Sales up and Costs down = Profit up

FINDING OUT YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Before you start using Improve your business, you may wish to find out about your business performance. You can get a rough idea about your strengths and weaknesses by answering the questions below. Each question concerns one area of management and corresponds to one particular section of Improve your business. For example, question 1 corresponds to section 1, question 2 to section 2 and so forth. Find out from your answers in which area(s) of management you are weakest and start reading the corresponding sections of Improve your business.

How good are you at...	Good	Average	Bad
1. Buying, selling and stock control?
2. Production management and production technology?
3. Bookkeeping?
4. Costing and pricing your products or services?
5. Marketing?
6. Management accounting?
7. Organising your office?
8. Planning your business activities?