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Every business can use benchmarking. At its simplest it helps you to compare statistics and control costs. More sophisticated benchmarking looks at process design and business strategy.
Cutting costs is the simplest way to improve your bottom line. Introducing a cost control system can bring immediate savings and ensure that you remain competitive in the longer term.
Filing and records management is a vital - if uninspiring - part of any business.
In a world of change and competition, innovating is not a luxury, but an essential.
Leading companies across the UK have already achieved, or are working towards, the Investors in People Standard. They recognise that their success depends on their employees - and that Investors in People is an effective way to make the most of them.
Many companies see the introduction of a quality assurance system as a major step forward in controlling and improving their key processes. Other companies simply react to customer demands that their suppliers should have suitable systems.
Running any business effectively requires good decision-making, which is based on good management information.
All businesses face change all the time, driven by internal or external influences. The rhetoric of change always includes words like growth, innovation, reorganisation, computerisation, redundancy, relocation and diversification. But most changes in business are minor and incremental.
A 'new product' can be a product or a service. It can be the next revolutionary computer chip, or a new holiday package put together by a travel agent. The point is, it is new, so it is often risky.
SWOT analysis looks at your strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats your business faces.
Bringing in the outside expertise of a consultant can solve problems and help you improve processes, products and profitability.
Sooner or later most businesses invest in IT. The challenge is to minimise the cost and upheaval, while making leaps in efficiency.
We are all concerned about the environment, but most of us prefer to believe it is someone else's problem. Such complacency can be costly.
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Strategy (ST)