In the article, "Product offering, pricing, and make-to-stock/make-to-order decisions with shared capacity," Gregory Dobson and Candace Arai Yano discuss the era of mass customization. Discuss the challenges associated with customization, as presented in the article.
Using the six inventory drivers as described by Dennis Lord in his article, "Inventory: The necessary evil?", outline each of these drivers describing what each is and what the small business owner should do to ensure proper inventory.
Kathryn Watson, Sandra Hogarth-Scott, and Nicholas Wilson describe why some commonalities among entrepreneurs in their article, "Small business start-ups: success factors and support implications." Identify these and determine how each affect the entrepreneur becoming successful.
In the article, "Why Cash Doesn't Motivate," Lorri Freifeld discusses the inherit problems with using monetary rewards to motivate employees. What problems does this type of motivation present, and what techniques does this article and other research suggest as being more effective?
Trends in small business were discussed in the article, "The future of small business." What three points discussed in the article will have the greatest affect on small business in the US moving into the next five years as we work to pull out of the recession? Be sure to support your response with additional research.
What is the "prosumer" and what are three specific implications of this particular buyer in the marketplace. What strategies can the small business owner adopt to use the prosumer to his/her advantage?
The small business owner can live or die by word of mouth. In the article, "The Value of Different Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Metrics in Predicting Business Performance," Morgan discusses the issues with employee satisfaction analysis. What are the implications for small business owners? How can a small business owner collect data on customer satisfaction that can be used to improve operations without the enormous costs of the traditonal systems we see in place today?