Marketing - Trigger 1

Learning objective 1. How to form the company image?

In every business is important to create an image to differentiate your company from competition.
In the same time the customer needs have to regarded in the top, if not first for non-profit organisations, of the reasons for business to exist.

Managing service differentiation must be a permanent concern for marketing departments. Companies have to develop an offer that would stand-out from competitors offers (by quality, attractivity, price, etc). The service delivery can be differentiated positively from competition by having more able and reliable customer-contact people, superior environment to deliver the service product, superior delivery process. The companies should also work on differentiating their image through symbols and branding.

Nicole L. Torres highlights in one article several ways to build up a company's image:

1. Build a Terrific Website. Most prospective customers research on the internet before purchasing, notes Gordon, so make sure your website looks professional and is informative and easy to use. Employ search engine marketing to direct traffic to your website, and be sure to gear all content on the site to customers. "[Some companies] will put up a website that says, 'our mission, our clients, our services, etc.,'" notes Gordon. "Instead, focus on what the customer or client will get." If you do bathroom remodels, for instance, don't just say you're a remodeling company-say, "With your beautiful new bathroom remodeled by XYZ Corp., you'll enjoy a spa-like experience."
2. Create a Persuasive Ad Campaign. "Just like your website, your ad campaign has to focus on what the customer will get. There should be a point of differentiation," says Gordon. You want your advertising to send people to your website, where you can flesh out your message. And even without a huge budget, you can still hire professionals to help you. If you want to do billboard or theater-screen advertising, for instance, Gordon says the firm offering the ad space can either help you directly or recommend talent you can hire to create a great ad for that medium.
3. Use the Press to Tell Your Story. First, define what you want your target groups to know about your company. Then forge a media relations campaign-find out what media outlets your target market reads, watches and listens to, then become familiar with those outlets. "Tailor your pitch based on what that particular media outlet needs from you," says Gordon. "You'll improve your business image when you land coverage because you'll have highly credible news and information disseminated based on your central message."
4. Target Influentials and Influencers. Some people have great influence over your target audience-be they reviewers, bloggers or people at the top of their industry whom others look to for expertise. "You need to create relationships with influencers," says Gordon. "You may even want to supply them with tools and materials they can use directly with your prospects so they can influence them positively toward using your business."
5. Get One-on-One with Customers. Direct contact with your target audience is key to boosting your brand image. You might try experiential marketing, where you provide free trials of your product or service. Or you could invite your target audiences to a special event, says Gordon, where they'll "actually have this one-on-one experience with your product at a fun event where you're controlling the environment." Finally, get involved in your local community with causes and charities that appeal to your constituents.

 

Sources:

1. Nicole L. Torres, 5 Ways to Build Up Your Business Image - https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/160292
2. G. Armstrong, P. Kotler, M.O. Opresnik - Marketing: An Introduction, 13th edition

Learning objective 2. How to find and use the right channels?

Marketing channel = a set of interdependent organisations that help make a product or service available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user.

Distribution channels: many companies have used imaginative distribution systems to gain a competitive advantage.

Marketing channels are part of the overall customer value delivery network, and for every company is important to design the effective marketing channels by analysing customer needs, setting channel objectives, identifying major channel alternatives, and evaluating those alternatives.

When a company has defined its channel objectives, it should next identify its major channel alternatives in terms of the types of intermediaries, the number of intermediaries and the responsibilities of each channel member.

Marketing channels are simply the different ways a company can communicate with customers, clients, donors, volunteers, etc.

Valerie Neumark is listing some important and efficient marketing channels:

• Website: make sure the content is clear and actual
• Blog:  include keywords
• Print/Direct Mail  
• Email Newsletters/Flyers: keep people engaged and not annoyed with the amount of emails, keep messages short 
• Facebook/Google+: keeps the company engaged in the commuinty 
• Twitter: Great for sharing information with the community, requires daily active participation
• Instagram/Pinterest: communicate company's brand

To use the correct marketing channels, you have to know how to communicate with your audience and what marketing channels work best for them. Advice from Valerie Neumark is to be strategic about how you start marketing through the channels that you use. Pick a channel to focus on, build out your program, then move to the next. You'll also see that once you have one channel built, you can use that to build more. For instance, if you have a large email list, you can use that to promote your Facebook page.

Do Work in Bursts: Automate Your Marketing Channels as Much as Possible
As a marketer, it is really important to manage your time. Rather than spending time each day managing your marketing channels, use tools that allow you to do work in focused bursts, and schedule content. Note that it is really important with social channels that you continue to "listen" and respond in real time. But, planned content can be written and scheduled easily.

Here are some ideas for how to do work in bursts and some useful tools to help you get this done.

1. Write all your blog posts for a month in at one time. Use native functionality Wordpress or Drupal scheduling to publish them over time.
2. Once you have the content for your website you can write and schedule 2 weeks of social posts in one sitting. Tool: buffer, hootsuite
3. Once you have your website content written, you can also write and schedule all of your email newsletters. Tool: MailChimp, VerticalResponse

Sources:
1. G. Armstrong, P. Kotler, M.O. Opresnik - Marketing: An Introduction, 13th edition
2. Valerie Neumark, How to Choose the Right Marketing Channels - http://www.rootid.in/think/how-choose-right-marketing-channels

Trigger 7

Learning objective 1. What are the Main Components of an Income Statement?

The Income Statement:
A summary of an entity's result of operation for a specified period of time is revealed in the income statement, as it provides information about revenues generated and expenses incurred.
The difference between the revenue and expenses is identified as the net income or net loss.
The income statement can be prepared using a single-step or multiple-step approach, and might be further modified to include a number of special disclosures relating to unique items.

Two basic formats for the income statement are used in financial reporting presentations—the multi-step and the single-step. These are illustrated below in two simple examples:

In the multi-step income statement, four measures of profitability (*) are revealed at four critical junctions in a company's operations—gross, operating, pretax and after tax. In the single-step presentation, the gross and operating income figures are not stated; nevertheless, they can be calculated from the data provided.

Sources:

1. Booklet: Basics of accounting and information processing, link: http://bookboon.com/fi/basics-of-accounting-information-processing-ebook
2. Income statement - http://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/022504.asp

Learning objective 2. What are the Main Components of a Balance Sheet?

The Balance Sheet
The balance sheet focuses on the accounting equation by revealing the economic resources owned by an entity and the claims against those resources (liabilites and owners' equity).
The balance sheet is prepared as of a specific date and it portray financial position or condition of an entity.

The balance sheet contains statements of assets, liabilities, and shareholders' equity.

Assets represent things of value that a company owns and has in its possession, or something that will be received and can be measured objectively. They are also called the resources of the business, some examples of assets include receivables, equipment, property and inventory. Assets have value because a business can use or exchange them to produce the services or products of the business.

Liabilities are the debts owed by a business to others–creditors, suppliers, tax authorities, employees, etc. They are obligations that must be paid under certain conditions and time frames. A business incurs many of its liabilities by purchasing items on credit to fund the business operations.

A company's equity represents retained earnings and funds contributed by its owners or shareholders (capital), who accept the uncertainty that comes with ownership risk in exchange for what they hope will be a good return on their investment.

Sources:

1. Booklet: Basics of accounting and information processing, link: http://bookboon.com/fi/basics-of-accounting-information-processing-ebook
2. Boundless. “Components of the Balance Sheet.” Boundless Accounting. Boundless, 20 Sep. 2016. Retrieved 07 Nov. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/accounting/textbooks/boundless-accounting-textbook/overview-of-financial-statements-3/the-balance-sheet-25/components-of-the-balance-sheet-158-6201/

Trigger 6

Learning objective 1. What to consider when setting up a financial plan?

The Financial Plan is part of the Business Plan and usually should include estimates on Funding, Profitability and Sales:

1. Investment calculation: is used to show the sources of funding and the expenditure requirements for the business in its initial stages.
2. Profitability calculation: is used to estimate where the break-even position (critical point) arises for a given price level and profit margin, as sales volume is varied. This can be used to analyse whether a sales target is realistic.
3. Sales calculation: the minimum invoiced sales target indicated by the profitability calculation can be apportioned among the various customer groups. This makes it easier to assess the importance of the customer relationships; any discounts and variable costs for products being sold shall be taken into account.

Sources:

1. Guide - Becoming an Entrepreneur in Finland: http://uusyrityskeskus.fi/sites/default/files/perustamisopas_suk_2016_en_web.pdf

Learning objective 2. How to setup accounting of a small business?

According to the Finnish Accounting Act, all businesses have a legal obligation to keep accounts. It is worthwhile for entrepreneurs to outsource their bookkeeping, i.e. to pay for a service from a firm of accountants, so that they can concentrate on earning their income. In choosing the firm of accountants, the entrepreneur should keep in mind that (s)he is eventually responsible also for the bookkeeping done by the firm of accountants. Therefore the entrepreneur must understand at least the basic concepts of the financial management of a company.

1. Day-to-day bookkeeping, which is dealt with during the accounting period, is based on corroborative documents. These include sales invoices, purchase invoices, payslips and bank statements.
2. Accounting period is normally 12 months.
3. Financial statements - when the financial period has ended, a financial statement shall be prepared and large enterprises shall draw up an annual report. The financial statement of a small enterprise shall include an income statement, a balance sheet and notes to the financial statement as well as a list of books and records. An entrepreneur shall not have to prepare a financial statement if, during the last ended financial period and the preceding financial period, no more than one of the thresholds is exceeded:

• balance sheet total exceeds EUR 350,000
• turnover exceeds EUR 700,000
• on the average, 10 employees employed during the financial period.

       4. Audits - the requirement to have a regular audit applies to general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited companies and co-operatives. However, according to the Finnish Audit Act, an auditor does not need to be appointed in small businesses, if no more than one of the following has been fulfilled in the last accounting period and the period that immediately preceded it:

• total sum of the balance sheet exceeds EUR 100,000
• net sales or the corresponding income figure exceeds EUR 200,000
• or on average, there are more than three employees.

Sources:

1. Guide - Becoming an Entrepreneur in Finland: http://uusyrityskeskus.fi/sites/default/files/perustamisopas_suk_2016_en_web.pdf 

Learning objective 3. What legal aspects should one consider when starting a small business in Finland?

Legal aspects are involved in the following areas:
- form of business
- licenses
- financing
- unemployment security
- taxation
- start-up grant possibility
- registration
- accounting and money transactions (templates)
- business premises
- personell
- agreements.

Sources:

1. Guide - Becoming an Entrepreneur in Finland: http://uusyrityskeskus.fi/sites/default/files/perustamisopas_suk_2016_en_web.pdf 

Trigger 5

Learning objective 1. How does Supply and Demand (S&D) Affect Prices?

To understand the mechanism on how S&D affects prices in a market, the following concepts should be understood:

1. Supply = the quantity of goods or services that producers are able to provide
2. Demand = the quantity of goods or services that buyers are willing to purchase

A key element that completes this S&D mechanism is the Price. If we add the price in the S&D definitions:

1. Supply = the quantity of goods or services that producers are willing to provide at a certain price
2. Demand = the quantity of goods or services that buyers are willing to purchase at a certain price

Changes in S&D for a good or service affect the selling price, and generally we can say:
- the lower the price, the higher the demand
- the higher the price, the lower the demand

There are more variables in the S&D equation, I only list here several:

• as low as price can be, a man might never buy women cosmetic products
• as low as price may be, beef cans may never sell in India
• psychological price: a man may not buy a 5€ T-shirt from market place, but would buy instead the same product from a branded store selling it for 20€ - possibly trust was a factor in the buyer decision, but the decision must have been based on thoughts like: "this is quite expensive, must be of good quality".

More views on pricing I present in Learning Objective 3, below.

Sources:

1. John J. Wild, Kenneth L. Wild - International Business, The Challenges of Globalization, 8th Edition

Learning objective 2. What Kind of Different Markets Exist in Perspective of S&D?

A set up where two or more parties engage in exchange of goods, services and information is called a market. In a market, the seller sells goods and services to the buyer in exchange of money. There has to be more than one buyer and seller for the market to be competitive.

Monopoly - a condition where there is a single seller and many buyers at the market place. In a monopoly market, the seller decides the price of the product or service and can change it on his own.

Monopsony - a market form where there are many sellers but a single buyer. In such a set up, since there is a single buyer against many sellers, the buyer can exert his control on the sellers.

Types of Markets

• Physical Markets - Shopping malls, department stores, retail stores are examples of physical markets where the buyers can physically meet the sellers.
• Non Physical Markets/Virtual markets - In such markets, buyers purchase goods and services from sellers through internet without physical interaction.
• Auction Market - In an auction market the seller sells his goods to one who is the highest bidder.
• Market for Intermediate Goods - Such markets sell raw materials (goods) required for the final production of other goods.
• Black Market - A black market is a setup where illegal goods or services are sold.
• Knowledge Market - Knowledge market is a set up which deals in the exchange of information and knowledge based products.
• Financial Market - Market dealing with the exchange of liquid assets (money) is called a financial market. Financial markets types include: Stock Market, Bond Market, Foreign Exchange Market.

Market segmentation is a marketing concept which divides the complete market set up into smaller subsets comprising of consumers with a similar taste, demand and preference.

Basis of Market Segmentation

• Gender
• Age Group
• Income
• Marital Status
• Occupation
• Psychographic segmentation - based on the lifestyle of the individuals.
• Behaviouralistic Segmentation - individuals loyal towards a particular brand.
• Geographic Segmentation

Sources:

1. MSG - Management Study Guide - Definition and Different types of Markets, http://www.managementstudyguide.com/what-is-market.htm

Learning objective 3. What Other Factors than S&D Affect Prices?

Internal factors

• cost - influenced by the good or service production expenses
• credit policies, promotions - price could be higher if an appealing credit policy is provided to the buyers, or price could be lower during the promotions

External factors

• government controls - by laws and regulations (i.e. subsidies)
• resellers and intermediaries - entities that usually will increase the selling price by adding their own commisions.

Sources:

1. Factors Affecting Pricing Product: Internal Factors and External Factors, article shared by Smriti Chand - http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/marketing/pricing/factors-affecting-pricing-product-internal-factors-and-external-factors/32313/

Trigger 4

Learning objective 1. What actions governments can take to affect the economy? What can be the consequences of government actions?

According to Andrew Beattie in his article “How Governments Influence Markets” the government has several possibilities to affect the markets and influence businesses in ways that often have unexpected consequences.

Monetary Policy: The Printing Press - Of all the weapons in the government's arsenal, monetary policy is by far the most powerful. Unfortunately, it is also the most imprecise. True, the government can do some fine control with tax policy to move capital between investments by granting favorable tax status (municipal government bonds have benefited from this). On the whole, however, governments tend to go for large, sweeping changes by altering the monetary landscape.

Currency Inflation - Governments are the only entities that can legally create their respective currencies. When they can get away with it, governments always want to inflate the currency. Why? Because it provides a short-term economic boost as companies charge more for their products and it also reduces the value of the government bonds issued in the inflated currency and owned by investors. Inflated money feels good for a while, especially for investors who see corporate profits and share prices shooting up, but the long-term impact is an erosion of value across the board. Savings are worth less, punishing savers and bond buyers. For debtors, this is good news because they now have to pay less value to retire their debts - again, hurting the people who bought bank bonds based off those debts. This makes borrowing more attractive, but interest rates soon shoot up to take away that attraction

Fiscal Policy: Interest Rates - Interest rates are another popular weapon, even though they are often used to counteract inflation. This is because they can spur the economy separately from inflation. Dropping interest rates via the Federal Reserve - as opposed the raising them - encourages companies and individuals to borrow more and buy more. Unfortunately, this leads to asset bubbles where, unlike the gradual erosion of inflation, huge amounts of capital are destroyed, which brings us neatly to the next way the government can influence the market.

Bailouts - After the financial crisis from 2008-2010, it is no secret that the U.S. government is willing to bailout industries that have gotten themselves into problems. Bailouts can skew the market by changing the rules to allow poorly run companies to survive. Often, these bailouts can hurt shareholders of the rescued company and/or the company's lenders. In normal market conditions, these firms would go out of business and see their assets sold to more efficient firms in order to pay creditors and - if possible - shareholders. Fortunately, the government only uses its ability to protect the most systemically important industries like banks, insurers, airlines and car manufacturers.

Subsidies and Tariffs - Subsidies and tariffs are essentially the same thing from the perspective of the taxpayer. In the case of a subsidy, the government taxes the general public and gives the money to a chosen industry to make it more profitable. In the case of a tariff, the government applies taxes to foreign products to make them more expensive, allowing the domestic suppliers to charge more for their product. Both of these actions have a direct impact on the market. Government support of an industry is a powerful incentive for banks and other financial institution to give those industries favorable terms. This preferential treatment from government and financing means that more capital and resources will be spent in that industry, even if the only comparative advantage it has is government support. This resource drain affects other, more globally competitive industries that now have to work harder to gain access to capital. This effect can be more pronounced when the government acts as the main client for certain industries, leading to the well-known examples of over-charging contractors and chronically delayed projects. 

Regulations and Corporate Tax - The business world rarely complains about bailouts and preferential treatment to certain industries, perhaps because they all harbor a secret hope of getting some. When it comes to regulations and tax, however, they howl - and not unjustly. What subsidies and tariffs can give to an industry in the form of a comparative advantage, regulation and tax can take away from many more. High taxes on corporate profits have a different effect in that they discourage companies from coming into the country. Just as states with low taxes can lure away companies from their neighbors, countries that tax less will tend to attract any corporations that are mobile. Worse yet, the companies that can't move end up paying the higher tax and are at a competitive disadvantage in business as well as for attracting investor capital. 

  

Sources:

1. How Governments Influence Markets, by Andrew Beattie -http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/11/how-governments-influence-markets.asp

Learning objective 2. What are the external factors that affect government's economic policy?

Economic policy refers to the actions that governments take in the economic field. It covers the systems for setting levels of taxation, government budgets, the money supply and interest rates as well as the labor market, national ownership, and many other areas of government interventions into the economy. Most factors of economic policy can be divided into either fiscal policy, which deals with government actions regarding taxation and spending, or monetary policy, which deals with central banking actions regarding the money supply and interest rates. Such policies are often influenced by international institutions like the International Monetary Fund or World Bank as well as political beliefs and the consequent policies of parties.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., of "189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." It now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises.

Through the fund, and other activities such as statistics-keeping and analysis, surveillance of its members' economies and the demand for particular policies, the IMF works to improve the economies of its member countries. The organization's objectives stated in the Articles of Agreement are: to promote international monetary cooperation, international trade, high employment, exchange-rate stability, sustainable economic growth, and making resources available to member countries in financial difficulty.

  

Sources:

1. Economic Policy, Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_policy
2. International Monetary Fund, Wikipedia -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Monetary_Fund

Learning objective 3. Why are governments subsidizing commodities?

Commodity = a  raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold, such as copper or coffee. Commodities are most often used as inputs in the production of other goods or services.

  

A subsidy is a benefit given by the government to groups or individuals, usually in the form of a cash payment or a tax reduction. The subsidy is typically given to remove some type of burden, and it is often considered to be in the overall interest of the public. Government subsidies help an industry by paying for part of the cost of the production of a good or service by offering tax credits or reimbursements or by paying for part of the cost a consumer would pay to purchase a good or service.

Types of subsidies:

·  Production subsidy - A production subsidy encourages suppliers to increase the output of a particular product by partially offsetting the production costs or losses. The objective of production subsidies is to expand production of a particular product more so that the market would promote but without raising the final price to consumers. This type of subsidy is predominantly found in developed markets

·  Consumer/consumption subsidy - A consumption subsidy is one that subsidises the behavior of consumers. These type of subsidies are most common in developing countries where governments subsidize such things as food, water, electricity and education on the basis that no matter how impoverished, all should be allowed those most basic requirements

·  Export subsidy - An export subsidy is a support from the government for products that are exported, as a means of assisting the country’s balance of payments

·  Employment subsidy - An employment subsidy serves as an incentive to businesses to provide more job opportunities to reduce the level of unemployment in the country (income subsidies) or to encourage research and development.[2] With an employment subsidy, the government provides assistance with wages. Another form of employment subsidy is the social security benefits.

·  Tax subsidy - Government can create the same outcome through selective tax breaks as through cash payment.

·  Transport subsidies - Some governments subsidize transport, especially rail and bus transport which decrease congestion and pollution compared to cars.

·  Environmental externalities - As well as the conventional and formal subsidies as outlined above there are myriad implicit subsidies principally in the form of environmental externalities. These subsidies include anything that is omitted but not accounted for and thus is an externality. These include things such as car drivers who pollute everyone’s atmosphere without compensating everyone, farmers who use pesticides which can pollute everyone’s ecosystems again without compensating everyone

Sources:

1. How Do Government Subsidies Help Industry? by Evan Tarver, June 2015 -http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/060215/how-do-government-subsidies-help-industry.asp

2. Subsidy, Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidy

Trigger 3

Learning objective 1. What is value chain?

A value chain is a set of activities that a firm operating in a specific industry performs in order to deliver a valuable product or service for the market. The product passes through each activity in the value chain and gains some value at each stage. It is a powerful tool for strategic planning. The concept comes from business management and was first described and popularized by Michael Porter in his 1985 best-seller, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance.

Sources:

1. Value chain, Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_chain 
2. Porter Value Chain - http://www.mbaskool.com/business-concepts/marketing-and-strategy-terms/2516-porter-value-chain.html 

Learning objective 2. How to develop functions as company grows?

History has many examples of small companies that started from a brilliant commercial idea but which were not able to match the organic growth with a solid structure that would develop or even maintain the early achieved success – overgrowth eventually led to organization collapse and end of business. Growing from a small organization to a larger organization requires a good planning, setting of realistic goals and discipline to follow the agreed strategy. Usually the organization would grow from several people having many roles (the extreme would be one man company where the person would fill all the functions including sales, marketing, logistics, etc) to a more complex organization where the functions would be well defined and communication between the departments could only be done in a formal way.

Organizational structure is the way in which a company divides its activities among separate units and coordinates activities among those units. The more a company’s organizational structure is appropriate for its strategic plans, the more effective the organization will be in working toward its goals.

Types of organizational structure:

• International division structure – separates domestic from international business activities by creating a separate international division with its own manager
• International area structure – organizes a company’s entire global operations into countries or geographic regions
• Global product structure – divides worldwide operations according to a company’s product areas
• Global matrix structure – splits the chain of command between product and area divisions.

Sources:

1. John J. Wild, Kenneth L. Wild - “International Business – The Challenges of Globalization”, 8th Edition

Learning objective 3. How does size affect the management of a company?

There could be more points of view regarding the management of a company: hierarchy, amount, styles, etc. My focus here was on the styles of leadership and the way the size of the organization impacts on these.

Leadership is the process where one person influences the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Of the many factors that has an impact on leadership style and effectiveness, group size plays an important role.

N. Nayab identifies in his article “Modern Leadership Styles in the Changing World” the following styles:

• Charismatic Leadership - is leading by dint of personality and charm, instead of relying on any external power or authority. Charismatic leaders seek to fulfill organizational goals by instilling devotion.
• Transformational leadership - is one of the most popular leadership styles in the changing world and focuses on effecting revolutionary change in organizations through a commitment to the organization’s vision.
• Visionary Leadership - a visionary leader dreams about the future and translates such dreams into specific, achievable goals and is able to articulate them with great inspiration to instill the commitment of others. They also back up such words with action.
• Transactional leadership - bases itself on getting things done through a clear chain of command and works on the assumption that rewards and punishment will motivate people. Transactional Leaders negotiate a contract with subordinates that creates clear structures, makes explicit the requirement, and installs a formal system for rewards and discipline.
• Servant Leadership - bases itself on the premise that leaders are servants first and leaders second. They depart from the traditional leadership style of dominating subordinates and telling them what to do, and rather empower the subordinate and act proactively to inspire them to perform. Such inspiration leads to collective efforts, the results of which turn out to be more than the sum of individual efforts.

The size of the group influences the leadership styles in organizations. Participative leadership styles require the leader’s individual attention to each team member and consulting with them before taking decisions. The higher the group size, the more difficult and time consuming this becomes.

Leaders with large groups and wide span of control adopt an autocratic style leadership out of compulsion if not out of choice, finding no other effective way to manage such a large group. Large groups are generally populated with people having comparatively lesser education, reinforcing the application of the autocratic style of leadership. Practical applications of such autocratic leadership style owing to a large group are in situations such as assembly line plant, political parties, and others.

Again, adopting a laissez faire or servant leadership style becomes possible only in small groups. Application of the same in wide groups or where the leaders have a wide span of control might result in chaos and hold ups.
One leadership style suitable for all group sizes is situational leadership where the leader makes decisions based on the capability of the followers and the leader, with the leader adjusting and adapts to the limitations laid out by the team members and the situation.

Sources:

1. How Does Group Size Affect Leadership? by N. Nayab - http://www.brighthubpm.com/resource-management/92552-how-does-group-size-affect-leadership/ 
2. Modern Leadership Styles in the Changing World, by N. Nayab - http://www.brighthub.com/office/home/articles/73968.aspx

Trigger 2

Learning objective 1. How to utilize your existing resources to expand your business? (Company’s mission)

A company’s mission statement is communicating the purpose of the organization. Commonly the organizations update their mission statement when the organization evolves. Examples of mission statements:

• KONE: “To improve the flow of urban life.”
• Nike: "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world."
• Starbucks: "To inspire and nurture the human spirit — one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time."
• Chevron: "To be the global energy company most admired for its people, partnership and performance."
• Amazon: "To be the most customer-centric company in the world, where people can find and discover anything they want to buy online."
• Intel: "Delight our customers, employees and shareholders by relentlessly delivering the platform and technology advancements that become essential to the way we work and live."
• eBay: "Provide a global trading platform where practically anyone can trade practically anything."
• Coca-Cola: “To refresh the world in mind, body and spirit. To inspire moments of optimism and happiness through our brands and actions.”

Definition of business resources – according to www.businessdictionary.com is: “Human, financial, physical, and knowledge factors that provide a firm the means to perform its business processes.”

Utilizing resources to expand the business is probably a differentiator in the success the great companies demonstrated during times. And this does not only refer to financial power or geographical presence that enabled companies to expand globally, but refers also to the human and knowledge resources that would enable a company to expand products portfolio or completely reshape the company’s purpose: this may simply start from an internal (or external) survey on collecting ideas and with the support of marketing and research and development departments implement this ideas in practice.
 

Sources:

1. Mission statement, Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_statement
2. What is a Mission Statement? By Nicole Fallon Taylor, Jan 2015 - http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3783-mission-statement.html
3. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/business-resources.html

Learning objective 2. How to foresee trends? (Company’s vision)
a)    How do you translate this into a company’s vision?

A vision statement is a declaration of an organization's objectives, ideally based on economic foresight, intended to guide its internal decision-making.

Mission statements and vision statements fill different purposes. A mission statement describes an organization's purpose and answers the questions "What business are we in?" and "What is our business for?" A vision statement provides strategic direction and describes what the owner or founder wants the company to achieve in the future.

Jean Van Rensselar identifies a trend as “a distillation of a novelty---a novelty plus time. You can predict a trend by anticipating what will remain of a novelty in a year. In short, a novelty is the tidal wave and a trend is what’s left on the beach after the tidal wave recedes. Anyone can recognize a trend once the tidal wave has receded; the trick is to predict what will be left on the beach while the tidal wave is still on the horizon.” The article “5 Ways to Predict a Trend” continues with how to identify a trend while in novelty stage:

• It is obviously useful
• It has broad appeal and application
• It is sustainable
• It meshes with other trends
• It has some history

A good example on how to translate trends into the company vision is presented by Accenture in the study “Technology Vision 2016”. We are witnessing a digital evolution, with technology advances and unlimited opportunities when change becomes the new normal.

• Intelligent automation - the true visionaries use intelligent automation to create a new digital world where they are masters of competitive advantage
• Liquid workforce - by exploiting technology to enable workforce transformation, leading companies will create highly adaptable and change-ready enterprise environments that are able to meet today’s dynamic digital demands (according to a study, 43% of the US workforce will be freelancers in 2020)
• Platform economy - it’s the platform-based business models and strategies they enable that are driving the most profound global macroeconomic change since the industrial revolution. In the digital economy, platform ecosystems are nothing less than the foundation for new value creation (81% of executives say platform-based business models will be core to their growth strategy within three years)
• Predictable disruption - ecosystems are born digital, and unhindered by industry boundaries (82% say industry boundaries are being erased and new paradigms are emerging for every industry)
• Digital trust - as security risks increase, so do opportunities to earn customer trust (83% agree that trust is the cornerstone of the digital economy)

 Sources:

1. Vision statement, Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_statement  
2. “5 Ways to Predict a Trend” by Jean Van Rensselar - http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/spottrend.htm
3. “Technology Vision 2016”, Accenture - https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insight-it-tech-trends-summary

Learning objective 3. How to create strategy based on vision and mission? (Company’s strategy)

Strategy is a high level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions of uncertainty.

Mission and vision are leading to a strategy that needs to be implemented in order to accomplish the set objectives. For a strategy to be viable, the following questions should be answered:

• Why is the company in business?
• What are we best at doing?
• Which customers should we continue to serve or start serving?
• Which products/services should we stop offering, continue to offer, or start offering?
• Why have we decided on these strategic directions?

 Sources: 

1. Strategy, Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy
2. Defining Your Business Strategy, FastTrac, Kauffman Foundation - http://www.entrepreneurship.org/resource-center/defining-your-business-strategy.aspx

Trigger 1

Learning objective 1. Identify the skills needed for International BBA graduates

For this study I have considered the following approach:
a. understand the generic skills the employers would expect from their employees
b. understand what additional skills should an international BBA graduate have
c. understand if there are specific skills required for Finnish market

To find the generic skills required, I have researched several materials in Internet, focusing on the key words like "Skills employers would expect" or "Future employability". One article written by Susan Adams on forbes.com seems like the perfect summary of those top ten most appreciated skills that an employee should have in order to fulfill his duties at work:

1. Ability to work in a team structure
2. Ability to make decisions and solve problems
3. Ability to communicate verbally with people inside and outside an organization
4. Ability to plan, organize and prioritize work
5. Ability to obtain and process information
6. Ability to analyze quantitative data
7. Technical knowledge related to the job
8. Proficiency with computer software programs
9. Ability to create and/or edit written reports
10. Ability to sell and influence others

I have to add here a remark: it is often that skills only are not enough to make one a desired candidate for a job. "I care" weights a lot more than "I know" and for this remark I might have to dedicate a special blog. However, let me just list here a set of personal attributes - according to a material by Department of Education, Victoria, Australia - that would complement the skills and would complete the profile for a best candidate for a position:

• loyalty
• commitment
• honesty and integrity
• enthusiasm
• reliability
• personal presentation
• commonsense
• positive self-esteem
• sense of humour
• balanced attitude to work and home life
• ability to deal with pressure
• motivation
• adaptability

In my opinion the above listed skills and attributes should exist in every International BBA graduate's profile; in addition I would see the knowledge of foreign languages and knowledge of local market(s) and cultures essential in being successful at work, especially considering that a BBA graduate woud target managerial and leadership positions.

Regarding to Finnish market specific requirements, I would rather list a collection of factors that could become obstacles in one's career path - as presented in a study project by Yulia Shumilova ⁄ Yuzhuo Cai ⁄ Elias Pekkola:

• Lack of Finnish/Swedish language skills
• Lack of the right contacts / access to professional networks
• Lack of opportunities to gain relevant work experience (e.g. though internships)
• Small labour market
• Lack of career guidance at higher education institutions
• Ethnic/cultural/religious discrimination
• Lack of access to job search information
• Lack of career advancement opportunities
• Residence permit restrictions

Sources:

1. The 10 Skills Employers Most Want In 2015 Graduates, Susan Adams, Nov 2014 - http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/11/12/the-10-skills-employers-most-want-in-2015-graduates/#b75a1f619f6f
2. Employability Skills, as published on Youth Central web site - http://www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au/jobs-careers/planning-your-career/employability-skills
3. Employability Skills, as published by Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006 - http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/teachingresources/careers/employabilityskills1.pdf
4. Employability of International Graduates Educated in Finnish Higher Education Institutions, survey by Yuzhuo Cai, Yulia Shumilova, Elias Pekkola, ISBN number for online version: ISBN 978-952-10-8152-1 (PDF) - http://www.helsinki.fi/urapalvelut/valoasurvey/pubData/source/VALOA09.pdf

Learning objective 2. Understand the process behind identifying (authorize for recognition) the BBA degree of UAS

According to the information available on Finnish National Board of Education (Opetushallitus) web site, in Finland the national administration of education and training has a two-tier structure:

1. The Ministry of Education and Culture is the highest authority and is responsible for all publicly funded education in Finland. The Ministry is responsible for preparing educational legislation, all necessary decisions and its share of the state budget for the Government.
2. The Finnish National Board of Education is the national development agency responsible for early childhood education and care, pre-primary, basic, general and vocational upper secondary education as well as for adult education and training. Higher education is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Culture. 

The Finnish higher education system comprises universities (yliopisto / universitet) and universities of applied sciences, UAS (ammattikorkeakoulu, AMK / yrkeshögskola, YH). All universities engage in both education and research and have the right to award doctoral degrees. The universities of applied sciences (UAS) are multi-field institutions of professional higher education that engage in applied research and development.

The Finnish National Board of Education is the National Coordination Point for the European Qualifications Framework appointed by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The National Coordination Point supports and guides the relationship between the national qualification system and the European Qualifications Framework together with other national authorities.

And before all, the degree granting process is conditioned by students participating in the respective educational programs by attending courses, completing the assignments and passing the examinations.

Sources:

1. The Finnish National Board of Education web site - http://www.oph.fi/english/

Learning objective 3. Define (concepts that could form) the bridge between skills and professional identity

It is a sentence from a study by Douwe Beijaard, Paulien C. Meijer, Nico Verloop that imprinted in my memory and defined the way I understand the concept of identity:
"Identity is not something one has, but something that develops during one’s whole life."

All a new borne child has - in matter of knowledge - is potential. Skills are developed in time, and same applies to one's identity: you know what you are and know what you aim to become. Professional identity - at one point in time - is the collection of skills and attributes that form a profile that enable to define a unique individual as "self" in his/her relations with society.

In my opinion, educational institutions - in all their variety as listed above in the Learning objective 2 - are the bridge between skills and professional identity.

Sources:

1. Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity, Douwe Beijaard*, Paulien C. Meijer, Nico Verloop, July 2003 - Teaching and Teacher Education 20 (2004) 107–128, http://www.journals.elsevier.com/teaching-and-teacher-education