What Is Risk Management? – Find Out How To Manage Risks in Business
What is risk management? – Simply put, it is the process by which businesses identify, assess, and control the various risks that threaten the growth, capital, and earnings of the organization. The risks for the organization can come from a variety of sources, both internal and external. These can be financial problems, legal problems, management errors, accidents, tech issues, economic problems, disasters, and many more.
In this article, you will learn about risk management in general and will get a good understanding of its essentiality in business. Furthermore, you will also learn the importance of risk management and how it can shape a business. Finally, we will share with you some of the best practices of risk management, with the help of which you can ensure a proper risk management system in place.
What Is Risk Management?
According to IBM.com,
“Risk management is the process of identifying, assessing and controlling financial, legal, strategic and security risks to an organization’s capital and earnings. These threats, or risks, could stem from a wide variety of sources, including financial uncertainty, legal liabilities, strategic management errors, accidents, and natural disasters.”
Risk management is important for situations when an unforeseen event (internal or external) pushes the organization into a threatening situation. It can also be an economic situation where an unexpected surprise in the market can heavily impact your business. Hence, having a risk management framework for your business is really essential.
The risk management framework will help you mitigate the risks in a better manner. Even if the risk affects your business, the risk management system will enable you to deal with that risk better.
External risks are out of your control, and you cannot do a lot to receive the impact of the risks. However, you can do many things to stop and mitigate the internal risks for your business. You will need to anticipate and prepare for the risks, despite the size of the business or the level of impact of the risk in the business.
Read More: Intrapreneurship – Definition, Importance, Duties, And Responsibilities
Why Is Risk Management Important?
According to Investopedia,
“Risk management has always been an important tool in running any business, particularly when a market experiences a downturn. In any economic environment, an unexpected surprise can destroy your business in one fell swoop if you don’t have the right risk management strategies in place to prevent, or at least mitigate, the damage from that risk.”
There are many risks that have enough potential to destroy the business and its operations. Hence, as a manager or CEO of the organization, you will need to identify what are the risks that pose threats to the operations of your business.
It does not matter whether the business is a startup or an established one. Risks can impact the business a lot. Even if a risk starts impacting a business, a business that is well-prepared can minimize the impact of the risk on the business’s earnings. With the impact of the risk, the business can also lose a lot of time, productivity, and even customers.
Hence, the identification of the risks of the business should be a key part of the business’s strategy and planning. You can identify risks in a number of ways once you implement a proper risk management system in the organization. What strategies you will employ to identify those risks should rely on the specific business activities of the company.
What Are The Best Ways To Manage Risks?
Having a proper risk management system in place is one of the major necessities. However, people still have their own biases.
According to Harvard Business Review,
“Multiple studies have found that people overestimate their ability to influence events that, in fact, are heavily determined by chance. We tend to be overconfident about the accuracy of our forecasts and risk assessments and far too narrow in our assessment of the range of outcomes that may occur.”
Here are the steps that you will need to take to ensure that you have a proper risk management system in place:
1. Risk Prioritization
If you have multiple risks, prioritizing the top ones will help you to deal with them as per their impact and possibility of impact.
2. Having A Business Insurance
Once you purchase insurance, you are transferring the risks of the company to insurance companies. Furthermore, you are not paying a lot of costs.
3. Becoming An LLC
If you do not want to be personally liable for the debts of the company, change your company’s structure to a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or a Corporation.
4. Quality Assurance
Quality assurance of products and services will help your business in increasing its reputation. Ensure to test them before customers purchase them. This will allow you to make all the necessary adjustments beforehand. Also, ensure that your testing methods are foolproof.
5. Get Away From High-Risk Customers
Implement a policy in your organization that the company will not entertain customers with poor credit. Even if the company deals with them, the customer must pay ahead of time. This shall lower the complications for the business in the long run.
6. Growth Control
Training your employees is of the highest importance here. To sell your products and services, if you set big goals for your employees, they shall be tempted to take uncalculated risks. This can make things go wrong and damage your company’s reputation.
7. Risk Management Team
Apart from paying an outside company to manage the risks in your business, consider having a risk management team of your own. To do this, you can appoint some of your current and experienced employees to work in risk management.
Read More: Entrepreneur : Who Coined The Term ‘Entrepreneur’?
Final Thought
What is risk management? – Risk management basically creates insurance for the company from within and is really important to ensure the success of the organization. If you want to implement a system within your company, consider following the aforementioned steps.
To shape a better strategy for your business, you will need to get a better idea of the business and the industry by diving deeper. Do you have any more recommendations regarding better risk management strategies? In that case, consider sharing your thoughts and views with us in the comments section below.
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Matrix Organizational Structure – What Are Its Pros And Cons?
In a matrix organizational structure, the teams within an organization try to bring different roles within the team together. Doing so, unlike a traditional hierarchical structure, they develop a grid-like reporting structure. Basically, the organization combines two or more structures from within. Here, both the traditional hierarchy of management as well as inter-department management is combined. In this article, you will learn in general about a matrix organizational structure and how it works within an organization. In addition to this, we will also discuss the major pros and cons of this organizational structure. Apart from that, we will also discuss the major roles within a matrix organizational structure. Hence, to learn more about such an organizational structure, read through to the end of the article. What Is A Matrix Organizational Structure? The matrix organizational structure basically combines two or more kinds of organizational structure. For example, let’s say you combine project management and functional management. According to Indeed.com, “Additionally, the matrix structure is composed of both a traditional hierarchy of management, where employees are managed by a functional manager, as well as additional project managers who can manage employees across different departments. These two or more managerial systems intersect on a grid or matrix.” In this organizational structure, different management styles are used - where the functional management as well as the divisional management are combined. Here, functional management consists of the traditional hierarchical structure based on the job function and the organization’s department. On the other hand, a divisional manager is the one who presides over the cross-functional team, which consists of representatives of both teams. An organization with a matrix structure has team members reporting to different managers. There might be a hierarchical manager while the team members may also have to report to their project manager. This type of structuring is important for companies trying to create new products without the hassle of realigning their teams. The matrix organizational structure combines the functional and the divisional managers. This helps the work processes to be done faster. According to the Wall Street Mojo website, “In a matrix structure, team members provide information to a project leader and their department head. This management structure might assist businesses in developing new goods and services without reorganizing teams.” The matrix organizational structure was started in the aerospace industry. This was the time when many firms wanted to get into a contract with US Government employees. They needed to create certain charts that show the structure of the project management team. How Does A Matrix Organizational Structure Work? This structure is best understood with the help of an example. According to ChartHop.com, “At the simplest level, an example of an organization using a matrix structure would be one that has set functional teams (e.g. Marketing, Sales, Customer Success) as well as more divisional teams with members from different functional areas that work together on specific initiatives.” A common example of a matric organizational structure is Nike. The company has teams that operate the functional management like merchandising and HR, as well as divisional teams that operate based on location, demographics, and product. Companies and their employees can get a lot of advantages with the matrix structure, especially with the ways that they work within the organization. The teams can share knowledge with each other and can make more informed decisions. Apart from that, the best thing that they will have is better morale within themselves. However, there are problems that you can find inside a matrix organizational structure, too. Some of them include conflict, slowdown of processes, lack of clarity, and more. Here’s how a Matrix organizational structure works – The employees report to two managers simultaneously. A functional manager is responsible for their overall role in the department. Their project manager, on the other hand, is responsible for the overall role in the department. The project manager is also responsible for a specific role or a project. When team members report to two different managers, the organization automatically breaks down its structure in a different style. What Are The Pros Of A Matrix Organizational Structure? There are different pros and cons of using Matrix organizational structure. It offers flexibility, adaptability, and advantages when matching changing customer needs. This type of organizational structure helps maintain work efficiency and matches market conditions and strategic goals. By creating cross-functional teams working on different projects, these companies can use the Matrix organizational structure to their advantage. According to LinkedIn.com, “One of the main advantages of a matrix structure is that it allows for more flexibility and adaptability to changing customer needs, market conditions, and strategic goals. By creating cross-functional teams that work on specific projects or tasks, a matrix structure can leverage the diverse skills, knowledge, and perspectives of employees from different departments, and foster innovation and creativity.” The intricacy of the matrix organizational structure is one of its main characteristics. You can see from the above sections that the employees are answerable to two managers - functional and project managers. This is because the allocation of resources is in such a way that the human resources are utilized at their highest. The following are some of the major pros of a matrix organizational structure: The departments are able to coordinate better, as the structure brings highly competent team members from different departments to one place. One of the major characteristics of a matrix organizational structure is that it combines the operational and project management frameworks. The communication between two or more departments gets better with the implementation of the matrix organizational structure. What Are The Cons Of A Matrix Organizational Structure? Like most management structures, the matrix organizational structure also has its drawbacks. Here are some of the cons of the matrix organizational structure that you will need to be aware of: There is a continuous need for clarification for the managers regarding their positions, and there are ambiguities in some cases. Hence, there is always a need to define the power dynamics between managers. Apart from the managers, the teams also need clarification regarding their roles in the structure. The individual team members should have a good idea of what their role is at the functional level and what their role is at the project level. This helps in reducing miscommunication between the members. In some cases, due to the involvement of different teams and departments, the decision-making processes can get a bit longer. Apart from that, time is taken since decisions regarding processes need to be made through two different managers. Hence, processes such as quality assurance slow down due to the presence of multiple supervisors. Read More: Entrepreneur : Who Coined The Term ‘Entrepreneur’? Tips: Use Matrix Organizational Structure to its Fullest Potential If you are planning to use the Matrix organizational structure, it’s best to start by outlining different roles within the project. Here are several tips to try when utilizing Matrix organization structure in an organization to its fullest potential. Manage Expectations While outlining the responsibilities of different roles within the project, the best approach would be to understand the expectations of each manager. A project manager might be expecting the performance of the overall project. On the other hand, the marketing manager might only be concerned with campaign performance. It’s important to manage the expectations of different managers and work accordingly. Keep People Accountable for Their Work The best way to ensure efficient project delivery; it’s important to make people accountable for their work. Workplaces with systems in place to increase engagement in their work can boost accountability. Companies can have a weekly report template for the employees accountable for different tasks. Communication Between Employees and Managers It’s important to keep communication seamless and transparent between employees and managers. There can be a weekly chart outlining the completion of tasks. In addition, the managers should also provide employees with feedback. Companies can do it in person or through chat and communication apps used in the organization. Inter-Department Relationships Projects requiring co-dependencies from different departments often face operational hurdles. It can happen due to a lack of collaboration and inter-team communication. However, it’s important to deepen interdepartmental relationships to avoid misunderstanding during collaboration. Wrapping Up Hope this article was helpful for you in getting a better idea of what a matrix organizational structure is. This structure is best suited for large organizations or organizations that deal with multiple projects. Due to the multiple needs of the organization, the managers can shuffle teams and bring personnel from different departments to work together. The matrix organizational structure helps in better coordination between departments and ensures a better quality of products and services. Do you have anything to add regarding this type of organizational structure? Share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comments section below. Read More: What Is Social Entrepreneurship? – Steps To Become A Successful Social Entrepreneur What Is a Franchise, And How Does It Work? – Examples, Benefits & More What Is A Venture Capitalist, And What Are Their Functions?
Sep 11, 2023
Best Business Credit Cards For Startups In 2023
Best business credit cards for startups can make your life easier for getting short-term loans instantly. Credit cards can help you to build a good business credit score. Your repayments on time can make your CIBIL score better in the long term. If you are a sole proprietor, then also you are eligible for a credit card. A social security number does not have a significant revenue history. If you are looking for the lowest interest rates, then Credit card history matters a lot. Cashback rewards and other perks offer a good credit card score. Your startup needs to succeed at times to make things happen in your favor. Best Business Credit Cards For Startups Available In 2023 Great business credit cards will offer you high limits for credits. Cash back rewards, balance offers, and travel facilities. Your credit card must suit your goals with complete ease. Try out the best options that can make things happen in your way. 1. Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card For business owners who are looking for better finances, Chase Ink is one of the best options to avail. It is one of the quality business credit cards for startups. The welcome offer for them is $750. The recommended credit score ranges between 670 -800 to get the maximum benefits of this credit card. Features Of This Credit Card Are As Follows:- The best bonus-earning categories involve phone service, internet, cable, and office supplies. With Chase Ultimate rewards, it is highly compatible. You will receive 1% cash back on all other purchases. 2% cashback, you can redeem on the first $25 spent on restaurants and gas stations. Your contribution margin needs to be in good shape. It will offer you the best options to explore things with ease. 2. American Express Platinum Business Credit Card The American Express platinum business credit card is another best credit cards for startups. You will get the welcome offer of 120K points and an annual fee of $695. The recommended credit score ranges from good to excellent. You must be well aware of it. If your business requires frequent travel to distant places. Some of the core features of this credit card are as follows:- $100 statement for credit entry and global entry for $85 in case of TSA precheck. Extensive travel and shopping protection. You will get upto 5X membership reward points. Minimal non-travel bonuses. Compared to other cards high annual fee. 3. Chase Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card The Chase Ink Business Unlimited credit card is one of the best small business credit cards. You will receive a welcome offer of $750. The recommended credit score must range from good to excellent. You do not have to pay any annual fee and 1.5% cashback rewards you will receive from these credit cards. Some of the key features of the credit cards are as follows:- You will receive unlimited cashback earnings. On a new purchase, you will receive unlimited introductory 0% APR for 12 months. For getting a high sign-up bonus, you will receive a low spending rate. Only foreign transaction fees can apply. Limited protection on travel costs as well as purchases. No presence of bonus categories. Similar kinds of information are present in HubSpot too. You can go through it once for better understanding. 4. American Express Business Gold Card American Express business gold cards will offer you 70K points. You will get an annual fee of $295K points. The recommended credit score ranges from good to excellent. Each billing cycle ranges between $150K. You can earn one point per dollar for expenses. Some of the core features of this credit card are as follows:- You will receive flexible reward and redemption options. With the inclusion of the integration of books, it will deliver you expense management tools. There are no foreign transaction fees are essential. No credit statements. Offers high annual fee. It is not applicable for the lower spending business. Sometimes for ERTC qualifications, credit cards play a vital role in getting the loans on time. 5. Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card The Chase Ink business preferred credit card is also the best business credit cards for startups. It offers a welcome bonus of 100k points. The annual fee of $95 fees you will receive from these credit cards. The recommended credit score ranges from good to excellent. You will have the privilege to earn three points for every dollar spent. Some of the core features of the Chase Ink business credit card are as follows:- You will receive multiple bonus categories. Phone and travel protection is possible. There are no requirements for foreign transaction fees. It comprises annual fees. If you want to get a high sign-up bonus, then you have to pay High spend requirements for the sign-up bonus. 6. Blue Business Plus Credit Card From American Business The blue business plus credit card from American business credit cards will help your small business to grow at a rapid pace. You will receive the welcome offer of 15K points. Your requirement to pay the annual fee is $0. The recommended credit score ranges from good to excellent. Some of the core features of the Blue Business Plus credit card from American Business are as follows:- You will have multiple transfer partners. On all purchases, you will get flat-rate earnings. Delivers your generous welcome offer. You can apply for foreign transaction fees. $50K bonus earning cap. 7. US Bank Business Triple Cash Reward The welcome bonus offer you will receive is $500. The annual fee of $0 you have to pay for getting this business credit card for start-ups. The recommended credit score ranges from good to excellent. You will receive business rewards. For a long introductory APR period, you will have to go through it once. You will receive 3% cashback for all the categories. Some of the core features of this best business credit card are as follows:- $100 statement credit for recurring software subscriptions. Upto 5% cash back that is booked on the US bank travel portal. No travel rewards you will receive from this credit card. Low rate outside all the bonus categories. Best Small Business Credit Cards There are several small business credit cards that you can opt for in 2023. Some of the best small business credit cards are as follows:- Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card. American Express Platinum Card. Capital One Spark Cash for Business. American Express Blue Business Cash Card. Discover it, Business Card. Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card. U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card. Your business's net operating income also matters a lot here. Try to consider this fact as well from your end. Final Take Away Hence, these are the best business credit cards for startups in 2023. You need to take care of the reality while you want to get short-term loans for your business. It is impossible to make your choices all of a sudden. You can share your views and comments in our comment box. It will assist us to know your take on this matter. Try to develop a better solution that can make things work perfectly well in your favor. Read More Busuiness Related News By Clicking Below!! ERTC Qualification Step-By-Step Guide Top 7 Best Business Ideas For Teens In 2023 What Is Safe Harbor 401K? Benefits And Types
Nov 07, 2023
Why Business Continuity Planning Is Essential For Your Company?
When crises happen in business, it is quite common to panic and make wrong decisions by remaining unprepared. Crises can happen anytime, and you must not start every day with the worst that can happen. However, you must stay prepared for anything to happen. You can do this with the help of a useful business continuity planning structure in place. This is because, if you do not stay prepared for the crises, it can cost your company a lot. In this article, you will learn some general details about business continuity planning. Apart from that, you will learn the importance of having such a planning structure in place. Furthermore, we will also discuss some of the major benefits of business continuity planning, which you must be aware of. Finally, we will share with you the steps you can follow to implement business continuity planning. What Is Business Continuity Planning? Business continuity planning is essential for a company as it helps in creating a prevention and recovery from the various risks and threats that can potentially affect the company. Having the plan will ensure that the personnel and assets of the company are protected. Protecting them will enable the company to start functioning by recovering quickly after a disaster situation. Business continuity planning is also essential to recover from situations like cyber-attacks where the company’s data gets compromised. Read More: What Is Risk Management? – Find Out How To Manage Risks in Business Why Is Business Continuity Planning Important? According to TechTarget.com, “The plan should enable the organization to keep running at least at a minimal level during a crisis. Business continuity helps the organization maintain resiliency in responding quickly to an interruption. Strong business continuity saves money, time and company reputation. An extended outage risks financial, personal and reputational loss.” With the help of the business continuity plan, you are making the company look after itself. You are analyzing the potential areas for risks and gathering important information from those areas. You have to have full information about those areas which are helpful for disaster situations. Furthermore, having a business continuity plan is also important to comply with legal processes. What Are The Benefits Of Business Continuity Planning? According to Investopedia, “Business continuity planning is typically meant to help a company continue operating in the event of major disasters such as fires. BCPs are different from a disaster recovery plan, which focuses on the recovery of a company's IT system after a crisis.” Basically, such a business continuity plan will help you to take stapes, including creating backups of projects, client information, and more. If something must happen to the company’s office, the satellite offices of the company will have access to all the essential information of the company. However, a business continuity plan does not work if a large population in the company is affected. It can happen at times of an outbreak of a disease. Despite that, having a business continuity plan in place will help you to improve the risk management processes of the company. Business Continuity Planning - Steps To Follow To make a great business continuity plan, it is important to have a management that oversees the plan. According to Hubspot.com, “This type of management determines the potential threats to a company and how each of these threats might impact business functions. Based on these findings, business continuity management is able to tweak the company's continuity plan to address any new potential hazards.” There are some steps you must follow to develop useful business continuity planning for your organization. Here are they: Step 1: Select your Business Continuity Team. Here, you must assemble a management team. Make sure the team is well-organized and detail-oriented. Make sure there is at least an executive manager, a program coordinator, and an information officer. Step 2: Define the objectives of the business continuity plan. To do that, you will need to know about what your end goal is. Furthermore, you must also have good information on the resources and budget based on your current projects. Step 3: Find the key players of your department and interview them. Make sure to talk with the executives as they have a bird’s eye view of the organization. Furthermore, make sure to interview the key team members of each department. This will help you to get an analysis that is useful and comprehensive. Step 4: Identify the essential functions of the business and the types of threats. By doing so, you will be able to find the major areas of your business that require the highest level of business continuity. Step 5: Assess the Risks in Every Area. Here, all you need to do is quantify the information that you have gathered from the interviews. Step 6: Conduct an Impact Analysis. Here, you will need to summarize your findings based on the costs and benefits to find out further what your priorities are. Step 7: Draft the business continuity plan. You must have already got ideas regarding what to include in the plan. Include all the requirements of the plan, followed by the procedure and end goals. Step 8: Test gaps in the plan. Once you have created your plan, you must immediately test it for any gaps. You can do it by communicating with those who are implementing the plan. Step 9: Revise your plan on the basis of findings. This will be on the basis of your findings in Step 8. Here, you will need to correct the flaws that you have found throughout the process. Read More: Business Risks – How To Identify, Manage, And Reduce Them? Bottom Line Business continuity planning is essential to hasten an organization’s recovery from a major risk leading to a threat or disaster. Basically, the company identifies all the risks that can affect the organization. The continuity plan puts in place various mechanisms and functions. With the help of these, the organization allows assets and personnel to minimize the company’s downtime. In case of a disaster in the company, it is important to implement business continuity planning to provide cover for the disaster. Do you have any recommendations regarding how to implement business continuity planning? Share your views and ideas with us in the comments section below. Read More: Entrepreneur : Who Coined The Term ‘Entrepreneur’? Intrapreneurship – Definition, Importance, Duties, And Responsibilities What Is a Franchise, And How Does It Work? – Examples, Benefits & More
Sep 02, 2023
The Resources You Need To Start Your Business
What do you need before launching your business? If you've been working toward it for a while, you might be wondering whether the simpler question is what don't you need? While the run-up to starting your company might feel increasingly frantic as you get closer to opening your doors, whether they are physical or virtual, if you've done your research, have a solid business plan, and have made sure that you have ample supply of the resources below, you should be ready to go. Details About Resources You Need To Start Your Business 1. Knowledge There's really no limit to the amount of knowledge that can be useful to you as an entrepreneur, but at some point, you do have to set aside the research and take those first scary real-world steps. Think of knowledge acquisition as an ongoing thing. There's a reason that some professions have continuing education requirements. It would be best if you never stopped learning about your industry, about business in general, and about ways you can improve. But what about the necessary elements in order to get started? First, you need to know your industry. Ideally, you've already got some experience in it; if not, then you'll have a much steeper learning curve. You can take courses, read books, look at online talks, and chat with other entrepreneurs to help you learn more. You need to know about basic business concepts and structures. This can help prevent a situation where you take a very circuitous path to solve problems that actually have fairly standard solutions. Knowledge really is power, and being well-informed about your industry and the forces that act on it will put you at the head of the pack. 2. Funding Having enough funding is critical for every new business, but you also need to know the types of funding and how much you need. Don't underestimate. Even a home-based endeavor will have costs such as setting up a website, physical or virtual storage and printing up business cards and similar items. There are a variety of funding sources that may be available to you, including loans, grants, and investors. Keep in mind as well that funding can be a staged process. You may need a certain amount just to get up and running, and after that, you can look for additional money that is accessible with the aid of Philippine debit cards. In fact, some loans and grants are only available to entrepreneurs who are already in business. 3. Location And Equipment When you hear the word resources, physical items may be the first thing that you think of, and you can't start your business without a place to operate from and things to help you do your job. If your enterprise is virtual, you still need to carve out a space online and have someplace to work, even if it's only a corner in your house or bedroom. If you're selling a product, of course, you will also need to have that actual product. Some resources will be specific to the type of business that you're running, but don't assume that because you are small, you don't need to have certain tools. In fact, you probably face the same challenges that larger companies do, albeit on a smaller scale. This can be the case for companies that have a small fleet. You might think that just because you only have a handful of vehicles, your fleet management challenges will be smaller. However, fleet tracking for small businesses is just as important as it is for large ones. A great way to simplify your operations and increase efficiency is with GPS tracking. In general, the process of accumulating the necessary equipment can add up to big costs, so you need to carefully evaluate your needs. However, don't make the mistake of trying to skimp on necessary hardware and software. This may look economical in the short run, but it will catch up with you eventually. Read Also: 6 Tips For Growing Your Small Business And Boosting Your Bottom Line 4. People Human resources usually refer to employees, and this is certainly one important element of success if your company is big enough to employ more people than just you. Find great candidates through personal referrals or working with a recruiter, and make offers that will attract top talent. However, people will be useful to you in other ways as well. Finding a mentor with who you can bounce ideas and who can offer guidance is invaluable. People extend to the support systems in your life as well. You'll need both professional and personal support. Are you involved with any local professional organizations? Are your family and friends on board with what you're doing? These sources of support can provide ideas and encouragement and can help keep you on track when your energy is flagging. Read Also: Top Signs Your Boss Is Threatened By You Effective Ways To Track Your Employees’ Work Is Natural Gas Distribution A Good Career Path?
Jan 18, 2023