BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

An entrepreneur must choose a business unit, but choosing a business unit is not
enough, backing it up with good business idea and goal is very crucial when
goals are not set before commencement of a business, the business will not
experience any form of growth and profit maximization which is the sole aim of
every business may not be achieved.

What is Business
Business denotes different things to different people. Business is an institution
which produces goods and services demanded by people (Brown and Retrevo).

Business can be seen as all forms of activities involved in producing

goods and services needed or desired by people. (Stenford)

Business can be any lawful activity be it political, commercial,

educational, clerical or religious engaged in by an individual or groups of
people utilizing both human and material resources of the environment (internal
and external) to identify, produce, distribute and satisfy human wants and needs
with a view to making a living (Komolafe I.A & J.A Fadare 2002).

Having fore knowledge of what business is and what it entails, you need to
know what opportunity is. Opportunities occur, when people discover a
problem of some kind that can be helped or solved with a service or product.
Opportunities may also arise from change.
What is opportunity: opportunity can be defined as a time or set of
circumstances that make it possible to do something.
Business opportunity : Business opportunity can be seen as a sound business
idea which forms the basis upon which an entrepreneur makes a firm investment
decision.
Factors to consider when evaluating business opportunities
(1) Viability: An entrepreneur needs to determine whether the business idea
conceived is viable or not.
(2) Potential for growth: An opportunity is said to be viable when it has the
potential / ability to grow and expand.
(3) Infrastructure: Easy access to infrastructure such as good roads, water,
electricity, telephone and postal service among others aid business
enterprise(s).
(4) Market for the goods and services: There must be clearly defined market
for goods / products / service(s) if the opportunity is to be considered.
(5) Rewarding to the investor: opportunity should be capable of rewarding
the investors. The essence of having business is to generate income. Every
investor desire/want returns on their investment

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 (6) Price Structure: An entrepreneur has to put into consideration the price
structure of the goods and services he/she would like to offer
(7) Incentives: This can be offered by the government and non-governmental.
Incentives are legitimate business opportunities to exploit i.e duly free/tax
waves etc.
(8) Financial viability: The assessment of financial viability is of significant
importance when evaluating viable business opportunities
(9) Personnel, Training and Management: Before embarking on a business,
it is necessary to make an assessment of the required personnel, training
and management i.e. cost of hiring and training human resources,
management efficiency etc. will enable business to success.
Process of Exploring Opportunities
Nigeria business environment is saturated with lots of challenging opportunities.
Opportunities are always ever there to be plucked. To take advantage of them
(opportunities) someone must hunt or prospect for them, perceive, capture and
realize them. According to Carlin (1965) “Opportunity offers itself to men in
direct proportion to their ability, will for action, power of vision, experience and
knowledge of business”.
Below are few out of many processes available for exploring opportunities.
(1) Recognize the needs for running a venture: - A venture / project or
business must be fully recognized. The very propelling influence, need,
motive / drive that is responsible for the entrepreneur’s eventual mindset
to want to run a venture / business.
(2) Conduct self – approved: An entrepreneur / prospective entrepreneur(s)
must analyze themselves to see if they possess the occupational,
professional and entrepreneurial competence required to run the business
(3) Scan the environment and industry: scanning the environment, industry
will enable the entrepreneur to understand the force, institutions and
actors that are correctly and potentially important / significant to
organization’s activities and performance. Business environment may be
domestic or international, immediate or remote, external or internal,
absolute or comparative.
In understanding business environment the following is paramount.
1. Environmental scanning
2. Environmental forecasting
3. Organization adaptation to environmental changes
(4) Analyze Business Ideas / Opportunities: Business ideas/opportunities
should be analyzed to enable the ventures/entrepreneur to determine the
capability, interest and financial viability of the venture/project/business
i.e conducting pre-feasibility of the project, marketing, commercial, or
economic viability.

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 (5) Select the best project/opportunity/idea: This level/stage is refers to as
investment decision stage criteria for accepting or rejecting the project,
selection factors are put in place. Such selection factors may be objective
(quantitative) or subjective (behavioural) quantitative or judgmental.
(6) Implementation of the idea/project/business: Business are bodies of
thoughts and reflections about the type, nature and structure of the
business. The first stage of the implementation process is to start with a
comprehensive business plans, which allocates and deploys resources
required for the actualization of the business.
IDENTIFY BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES USING (SWOT) ANALYSIS:-
Opportunities occur when people or groups/individual discover a problem of
some kind that can be helped or solved with a product/service or when
individual/group of people decides they have certain needs or wants to satisfy.
Sources of opportunities could also be an observed demand and supply arising
from community, society’s needs and function, growing and evolving
economics and economic niches, technological change, social change,
demographic change, political changes i.e. artificial scarcities, war, shortage or
surpluses of a particular commodity(ies) price and shift in demand.
SWOT ANALYSIS S -Strength W – Weakness O – Opportunity T –
Threat
SWOT Analysis is the strategic planning techniques used to assist a
person/group/ organization/ entrepreneur to identify its strengths and
weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats in the environment where the
business is situated. Threat in the business environment can arise from
competition, technological breakthroughs, change in government policies etc.
Strengths: are positive internal factors that contribute to an individual’s ability
to accomplish his/her mission, goals and objectives.
Weaknesses: are negative internal factors that inhibit/hinder/restrict an
individual or groups from accomplishing his/her/their mission, goals and
objectives. It is advisable for an entrepreneur to magnify his strengths and
overcome or compensate for his/her weaknesses.
Opportunities: are positive external options that an individual could exploit to
accomplish his/her mission, goals and objectives.
Threats: are negative external forces that an individual could exploit to
accomplish his/her mission, goals and objectives and these could arise due to
competition, change in government policy, economic recession, technological
advancement etc.

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 Strengths

T
O sis
SW aly
Threats
An Weakness

Opportunities
PROCESS OF CONDUCTING MARKET SURVEY
A market for any business, (product/service) is all the people that reside within
a specific geographical area, who need a product or services and are able and
willing to buy at a given price. Market survey can be defined as an investigation
into the state of the market for a particular product/service including an analysis
of consumers’ needs and preferences. An old entrepreneur who had been in the
business may not need any market survey, but new entrepreneurs, starting the
business or just going into any form of business he/she requires market survey.
The process of conducting a market survey involves the following steps:
(1) Defining the objectives of the market survey and specifying what
important information is required.
(2) Working out the details of the study, such as:
 Identifying sources of obtaining information
 Time and cost involvement for the study
 Methodology to be used in gathering information
 Developing a plan of action
(3) Selecting samples and deciding what contacts and visit should be made.
(4) Preparing questionnaire and plans for surveys and interviews
(5) Collating and analyzing data
(6) Preparing a report of findings.
BUSINESS IDEA GENERATION
Business idea generation is the process of creating, developing and
communicating ideas which are abstract, concrete or usual.

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Business idea is a concept that can be used for financial gain that is usually
centered on a product or service that can be offered for money.
Idea: is the base of the pyramid when it comes to the business as a whole.
Business idea: is the response of a person or organization to solving an
identified problem or to meeting perceived needs in the environment i.e
markets, community etc.
Business idea: is a pre-requisite for a successful business venture. Good
business ideas result from effort and often creativity of the entrepreneur.
Sources of business idea are:
(1) Hobbies/interests
(2) Personal experience/business experience
(3) Skills in a particular field
(4) Franchises
(5) Creativity
(6) Complaints
(7) Brainstorming
(8) Survey
(9) Exhibition
(10) Mass media i.e. – newspaper, TV, interest, journals, magazines,
textbooks, etc.
Reasons for generating Business idea
(1) Business idea generation is a sine-qua-non (inevitable) for business
(2) Ideas are generated to respond to market needs
(3) Ideas are also generated to respond to changing fashions and
requirements
(4) In order to stay ahead of competition
(5) To be in tune with the latest technology
(6) In order to spread risk and allow for failure.
(7) In response to product life cycle.
How to Generate Business Ideas
(1) Meeting new people
(2) Keep a “pain point” journal
(3) Tap into your interest
(4) Explore new ways of thinking
(5) Travel
(6) Go online
(7) Do your market research

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 BUSINESS PLAN

It is a common slogan by everyone that “failure to plan is planning to fail”.

Planning is a continuous process that never ends for business. It is extremely
important in early stage of any venture/business/project when the entrepreneur
will need to prepare a preliminary business plan. There are various types of
plans associated with business operation.
(i) Financial plan
(ii) Marketing plan
(iii) Production plan
(iv) Sales plan
(v) Human. Resource plan etc.
Plan may be short or long, strategy or operational whatever type that is adopted
is very vital and its main purpose is to provide guidance and structure to
management in a rapidly changing marketing environment. After having the
fore-knowledge of what plan is, types of plans and major purpose of plan in
business, what then is Business plan?
Business plan: can be referred to as a formal statement of business goals,
reasons they are attainable, and plans for reaching them. It may also contain
background information about the organization or team attempting to reach
those goals. Goals may be internally or externally. Externally focused goals
are critical to external stakeholders. i.e. clients, government agencies – tax
payers, international lending bodies IMF, world banks, development banks etc.
Business plan is also a written document prepared by the entrepreneur that
describes all the relevant external and internal elements involved in starting a
new venture. It is a integration of functional plans such as marketing, finance,
manufacturing and human resources it address both short term and long term
decision making of the business.
Business Plan is a document that describes a new business, its product/service,
how it will earn money. leadership, staffing, finance, operations’ model and
other details that are essential to both operations success.
The primary value of the business plan is to create a written outline that
evaluates all aspects of the economic viability of the business including a
description and analysis of the business prospects for a period of time.
Okechukwu Onwuliri Ph.D (2009).
Importance of Business Plan

Business plan is very useful in different ways

(i) It will define and focus on the objective using appropriate

information and analysis
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 (ii) It is used as a selling tools in dealing with important relationships
including the leaders, investors and banks
(iii) It uncover omissions and weakness in the planning process
(iv) It is a pre-requisite to obtain finance
(v) It help to determine the viability of the venture
Why Entrepreneurs needs to write business plan
Investors rely on business plans to evaluate the feasibility and possibility of a
business before funding it. i.e. getting a loan etc Apart from loan, other reasons
are:
1 Planning: writing out business plan is an invaluable exercise for
clarifying your ideas and can help the entrepreneur to understand the
scope of the business as well as the amount of money, time and
resources required to start the business.
2 Evaluating ideas: entrepreneur may have multiple ideas in mind, a
rough business plan for each idea will assist the entrepreneur to focus
his time, energy, on the one with highest return on investment.
3 Research: To write a reasonable business plan, an entrepreneur needs
to carry out thorough research on the idea conceived, target market,
competitors etc so as to acquire relevant information that will assist
him/her to make critical decisions.
4 Partnership: business plan will assist the entrepreneur to decide
whether to collaborate with other existing organization and explain his
/her vision, target audience, growth strategy, etc. this decision will
enable the existing organization/company if the intending business is
good and fit for theirs.
5 Competition: There are many business organization offering
intending entrepreneurs, mentorship, grants or start-up capital. To
receive from such organization, business plan is required.
Preparing a Detailed Business Plan

The three stages of writing business plans are:

(1) Before starting the business
(2) After deciding to go into business
(3) When updating or expansion is required
Business plan can be written for different types of business

(1) Retail/wholesale business

(2) Service business
(3) Manufacturing or any other type of business

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Whose Responsibility is to Write a Business Plan
(1) Prospective business, owner/entrepreneur
(2) Support agencies
Research is required before preparing a business plan in areas such as
customers, competitors and suppliers.
Steps to Writing a Detailed Business Plan
(1) Research: Research and analyses your product, your market and
objective expertise. i.e (i) know your company (ii) your product (iii) your
competition and market intimately. In conclusion you must read and
familiarize yourself with the business and industry before going into it.
(2) Determine the purpose of your plan: Business plan can serve several
different purpose apart from the definition given by an entrepreneur as a
written document describing the nature of the business. It is also a
roadmap that provide direction to a business, so as to plan its future and
help it avoid bumps on the road.
(3) Create a company profile: This includes:
i. History of the business/organization
ii. Type of product or services the organization offer
iii. Target market and audience
iv. Resources available
v. Methodology for solving problem(s)
vi. What makes the business unique.
(4) Document all aspect of the business: The interested investors want to
know if the business is going to be profitable or not, as a result they want
to know the nitty-gritty of the business. To help with this process ensure
you document everything from your cash flow, expenses inception
strategy, licensing agreements and industry projection etc.
(5) Have a strategic marketing plan in place: A detailed business plan will
always include a strategic and aggressive marketing plan, this includes
achieving marketing objectives like.
(i) Introduce new product
(ii) Extend new territories for the company
(iii) Extend or regain market for existing product
(iv) Boost sales in a particular product, market or price range
(v) Gross – sell are product with another
(vi) Enter into long term contract with desirable clients
(vii) Raise price without cutting into sales figure
(viii) Refine a product i.e Cadbury 3 in 1 chocolate
(ix) Have a content marketing strategy
(x) Enhance manufacturing product delivery

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 (6) Make it adaptable based on your audience: Potential readers of a
business plan are varied bunch, ranging from bankers, venture capitalists
to employees. Each reader have certain interest, all these must be taken
into account when preparing a plan i.e banker are interested, balance
sheet, cash flow statement etc. venture capitalists are interest in basic
business concept and your management team. While the major in your
team will use the plan to remind themselves of the objective
(7) Explain why you care: Whether you’re sharing your plan with an
investor, customer or team member your plan must show that you’re
passionate, dedicated and actually care about your business and the plan.
Quality of a good business plan.

A business plan should:

 Have a good appearance
 Number each copy
 Provide index
 Signed to show who is submitting it
 Provide a summary
 Depend on the nature of the business
A business plan is written by:

 Identifying all the questions that could be asked about the business.
 Determining what further information needs to be gathered to answer all
the questions
 Obtaining all the necessary information
 Comparing various alternatives
 Making a decision on each question
Finally, a business plan should be factual, briefed and organized to carry the
followings:
(1) Cover page
(2) Table of content:
 Introductory page
 Name and address of business
 Name(s) and address(es) of principals of report
 Nature of business
 Statement of financing needed
 Statement of confidentially.

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PROCESS OF PREPARING PRELIMINARY PROJECT PROPOSAL

The structure of a preliminary project proposal is segmented into sections as

stated below:
(1) Background: The background section, establish the context of the project
by giving an account of the problem(s) it is trying to solve
(2) State of the Art: This gives an overview of existing and emerging
technology in the field, including an account of rival technologies and a
comparism of advantages of the various option.
(3) Proposal: This is an overview of the proposal and the approach. What to
do, how to do it and when to do it, to achieve the project objective.
(4) Consortium: This talk about the proposal manpower and the required
ability to carry out the project successfully i.e skills, competences,
experience etc.
(5) Cost: This give the total summary of the project cost i.e working capital
and start-up cost
(6) Objective and deliveries: In the “O” and “D” you first identify
objectives of the project and deliverables of the proposed project.
(7) Competitiveness: This is establishing the advantage of the proposed
solution compared to other solutions, whether there already exist or are
still being researched.
(8) Impact: This section of the proposal includes:
(i) Markets and uses: identify markets and possible uses of the
deliverable of the project.
(ii) Benefits and beneficiaries: Identify the beneficiaries of the project
results and the manner in which the beneficiaries will benefits.
(iii) Spill – over benefits: Identify any secondary benefits of the project
(business) – i.e funding programmes etc.
(iv) Road map: This give an indication regarding to what further steps,
effort, costs and time frames required before tangible benefits can be
realized.
What is pre-feasibility: is a preliminary version of feasibility study it is similar
to a feasibility study except that it is less detailed. It it usually carried out for
large and complex product to determine whether to proceed to the more
elaborate feasibility study.
PRODUCT AND SERVICE SELECTION
The need to guide potential entrepreneurs regarding how to go about selecting
the right type of product cannot be over-emphasized as it quite crucial for their
future survival. The true aspect is that choosing the wrong type of product or
service could easily lead to business failure.

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 Product: is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition,
use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. (Marketing definition)
Philip Kotler 14th Edition
Product: is a bundle of complex tangible and intangible attributes or benefits.
i.e such as image, colour, packaging, repair service etc. (marketing definition
Philip kotler)
Service: Are forms of products that consists of activities, benefits or satisfaction
offered for sale that are essentially intangible and do not result in the ownership
of anything i.e banking, hotel services airline travel home repairs etc.
Nature and characteristics of Product
Product is an outcome of input transformation output. The inputs are men,
techniques/strategies/methods, materials, money and machines. Product and
service must have the ability to satisfy stated or implied customer’s needs. The
important features may be in terms of weight, liability, size, maintainability or
operating features. Therefore product and service must:
(i) Be capable of increasing the profitability and existence objective of
the business.
(ii) Must have the ability to satisfy needs or wants
(iii) Must be homogeneous i.e product
(iv) Heterogeneity unique i.e service
Differences between Product and Service

Product Service

A physical commodity Process of activity

Tangible Intangible

Homogenous Heterogeneous

Production and distribution are Production, distribution and

separation from their consumption consumption are simultaneous processes

Can be stored Cannot be stored

Transfer of ownership is possible Transfer of ownership is not possible

Inseperability of production and consumption: service are generated and

consumed within the same time frame i.e hair cut can be delivered and
consumed simultaneously not later.

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Type of service
Care Service – i.e. teacher, lawyer banker, etc.
Supplementary Service – Service heat are tenderedd as a corollary to the sole
of a tangible product i.e delivery option offered by restaurant.
When a new product is to be acquired or produced by a company, usually a
defined product evaluation and selection process must be used.
The evaluation and selection process would identify products that are expected
to meet market regulators. There are three stages involved in product selection.
These are:
Idea Generation
Product idea come from different sources such as business, newspaper, research
institute, national resources, competitors etc. the beginning of idea generation
could be a simple analysis of the product, strength and weakness could also be
generated through desk research and various management consensus procedures
Evaluation:
Screening of the product idea is the starting point in evaluation criteria such as
Potential value of the product, time, money and equipment needed,
Fitting of the potential product into the business long range sales plan,
availability of qualified human resources to handle its marketability need to be
thoroughly considered identified product needs to be adequately evaluated:
A pre-feasibility of the product, market, technical and financial aspect be vital at
this stage to have a clear picture of associated cost and benefits
What is pre-feasibility: is a preliminary version of feasibility study it is similar
to a feasibility study except that it is less detailed. It it usually carried out for
large and complex product to determine whether to proceed to the more
elaborate feasibility study.
Choice: A choice is made from a product which has been found to be
commercially viable technically feasible and economically desirable. At this
stage/step necessary machineries are put into motion.
Factors to consider in product selection
In selecting a product for your business the following factors must be taken into
consideration
Supply gap: The size of the unsatisfied market demand which constitute a
source of business opportunity will dictate to great extent, the need to select a
particular product
Fund: The amount of fund required is also another factor. Adequate fund is
needed to produce develop, promote, sell and distribute the product selected.

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Availability of Raw Material: Different product requires different new
material required is another critical factor.
Technical Implication: The production process of the product must be
considered i.e. The technical implications on the existing production line
available technology and the labour force.
Profitability and Marketability: Most times, product will highest profit
potential in often selected, however, a product can be selected on the basis of
ability to utilize idle capability or complement the sales of existing product i.e
Bournvita 3 in 1 sachet.
Availability of qualified personnel: Qualified personnel to handle the product
and marketing of the product must be available.
Government Policy: This is an uncontrollable factor. The focus of government
policies can significantly influence the selection of product.
Government Objectives: The contribution of the product to the realization of
the company’s short and long range goals must be considered as well before
selection.
Other cogent factors associated with product selection are: -
Infrastructure
Raw material
Government regulation/policy
Legal aspects of business
Technology
The moment an entrepreneur selected a particular product for production, there
is need for further analysis of some cogent factors to determine how production
will commence and what legal requirements and license must be met.
Processing Activities
 Description of the process ready flow chart show comprehensive material
and energy requirement.
 Consideration of alternative process and justification for the choosen
process.
 Firm size and production plan
 Start up and technical know – how
 Availability of raw material and importation of raw material if need be.
 Investigation into market to know the demand for production.
 Machine and equipment – technology

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 Machines and equipment layout
 Type of machinery and equipment required and capacity of each to
machine and equipment to use.
 Sources of supply of machinery and equipment must be known, cost and
terms involved. i.e. it the machine is to be impacted or mould locally.
 Compare and analyze attentive machinery and equipment in terms of
cost, durability, maintenance, reliability and local technical expertise.
 Project site – infrastructure
 Comparative study of cost. Location or sites stating the advantages and
disadvantages to the business.
 Map showing venture location
 Desirability of location in terms of distance from market, raw materials
and other factors.
 Raw materials- Types and specification of raw material required.
 Cost of raw material, and where the raw material can be purchase from
time to time.
 Availability of the material locally and prospect for impartation if need
be.
 Influence of the environment in the project
 Depict of project location environment
 Portray the project requirements and processing technologies
 Forecast the level of waste product from the product and it effect on the
environment, product and what to do to alleviate it effect in the
environment.
 Manpower requirement – personal - Whether to have skilled and
unskilled labour
 Technical and managerial
 Types of training needs for personal and schedule
 Remuneration and other from benefits to offer
 Waste Disposal
 Forecasting the quantity of waste expected, method of disposing it and
cost in line with legal
 Requirement with regards to environment impacts
 Business idea generation

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The beginning of being an entrepreneur and starting a new business is to
identify the essential product or service being offered. The starting point of the
new product idea is usually generated within through research and development,
creative problem solving and other sources are:
 Customers
 Existing company distribution channels
 Personnel experience
 Media
 Complaints
 Creativity etc
Steps involved in a preliminary screening
Every project/business embarked upon is full of risks. The risks involved in the
business/project can be expressed in form of assumption. Preliminary test is
intended to eliminate the less probable numbers of an experimental series.
Screening for the purpose of this course is the process of checking unwanted
materials, issues etc.
A pre-feasibility study is the pre-cursor to a feasibility and design study. Its
main purpose to ensure there is a solid basis for undertaking a feasibility and
design study. There are two ways of using pre-feasibility study
It is most commonly use as first step in activity preparation after activity
identification is complete i.e after determination or choice of selected option.
When enough information had been gathered about the development situation,
identification mission is analysis through the standard feasibility study level.
 Identify the nature of uncertainty (ies) related to the project which cannot
be directly control
 Identify factors that are uncontrollable and very crucial to the success of
the business. i.e. political, social, technical, economic and physical
 Define design external and internal conditions necessary to attain the
objectives of the project.
 Examine the project design if they are valid
Steps in preparing pre-feasibility study – using management approach
 Conduct a preliminary analysis
 Prepare a projected income statement
 Conduct market survey
 Plan business organization and operation
 Prepare an opening day balance sheet
 Review and analyse all data
 Make Go/No Go decision

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 MANAGING ENTERPRISES
Management:
Management is described as the process of getting things done through people
in an electives & efficient manners.
Management can also be defined as the coordination of all the resource of an
organization through the process of planning, organizing, directing &
controlling in order to attain organizational objectives – Nwachukwu (1988:4)
Management can also be defined as a set of activities undertaken by one or
more person in order to coordinate the activities of others in the pursuit of ends
which ING(1975:10).
From the few definitions, management could be seen as the performance of
those activities that enhance effective utilization of human & materials resource
with the aim of achieving organizational goals. The core activities are planning,
organizing, directing, controlling, reporting, staffing & budgeting.
A manager is a hired hand or person saddled with the responsibility of
planning, organizing, integrating activities of others in an organization.
A manager can also be an agent of an organization who works in accordance
with the goals of an employee. His motive centers on the attainment of
organizational goals & objectives. He ensures effective & efficient use of
organizational resources to achieve the set goals.
FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT
1. Planning: is one of the major functions of management, its spelt out a
future course of action and deciding in advance the most appropriate
course of actions for achievement. or deciding in advance , what to do,
when to do it and how to do it. it bridges the gap from where we are and
where we want to be (According to KOONTZ)
2. Organzing: it is the process of bringing together physical, financial &
human resources and developing productive relationship among them for
achievement of organizational goals. OR Organizing is the process of
arranging and allocating work, authority & resources among an
organization’s members so they can achieve the organization’s goals.
3. Staffing: it is the function of manning the organization structure &
keeping it manned. The main purpose of staffing is to put right man on
the right job or square peg in square holes and round pegs in round holes.
It also a managerial function involves in manning the organization
structure through proper and effective selection, approval & development
of personnel to fill the roles designed in the structure (According to
Koot28 o’Donev)

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 4. Directing: it is that part of managerial function which activate/ put into
motion the organization methods to work effectively for achievement of
organizational purpose(s).
5. Controlling: this implies measurement of accomplishment against the
standards & correction of deviation, if any to ensure achievement of
organizational goals. The purpose of controlling is to see to it that
everything happens in conformities with the standard.
NOTE: Budgeting & Report are also part of management function because
there is no way you are going plan without budgeting for income and
expenses. Report is also part of controlling because most organization
will expect you as manager to give feedback and this is also reporting
FUNTIONS OF A MANAGER
Management functions are the key functions that are performed by
managers, but the functions of a manager on the other hand includes:
(1.) Provision of clear direction for the organization
(2.) Ensuring that the organization serves its basic purpose, which is
provision of goods & services.
(3.) Managers serve as the major link between the organization and its
environment.
(4.) Managers are responsible for choosing the right
techniques/strategies/methodologies required to keep an
organization manned in line with its changing environment.
(5.) Managers ensure that goals of organization are achieved as it when
due meeting targets/deadlines.
(6.) Managers are responsible for the designing & maintaining the
stability of the organization’s operation.
Management structure for an organization
Organizational structure is a system that consists of explicit and implicit
institutional rules & policies designed to outline how various works, roles, and
responsibilities are delegated, controlled & coordinated. It also determines how
information flows from level to level within the enterprise/business /company.
Organizational structure refers to the way various part of an organization are
arranged to ensure orderliness & achievement of organizational mission
(Ifechukwu).
Organizational structure is the framework of jobs & departments that directs
the behavior of individuals & groups towards achieving the organizations
objective.
From the definitions above, it is visible that organizational structure is the blue
print or model indicating how people and jobs are combined in an organization.

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The structure can be
Horizontal or Vertical line etc

1. Vertical Structure
CHAIRMAN BOARD OF DIRECTOR

GENERAL MANAGER/CEO

TOP MANAGEMENT TEAM

MIDDLE LEVEL MANAGEMENT TEAM

LOWER LEVEL MANAGEMENT TEAM

2. HORIZONTAL STRUCTURE

(a) Departmentalization by function (functional structure)

GENERAL MANAGER

Mktg Production Purchasing Finance /Personnel

Marketing Engineering Purchasing & Finance Personnel

Research Administration Supply

(b) Departmentalization territory (Geographical Structure)

GENERAL MANAGER

Western Northern Eastern Southern

Region Region Region Region

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 (c) Departmentalization by customer (customers’ structure)

GENERAL MANAGER

Customers Industrial Domestic Military

sales sales sales

(d) Departmentalization by process (process structure)

GENERAL MANAGER

Welding Punch process Drilling

process

(e) Departmentalization by product

GENERAL MANAGER

Baby food Toiletries Beverage Drink Textiles

(f) Matrix Structure

GENERAL MANAGER

Head Engr. Head Production Head Finance Head Estate

Mgt. Head Geo Head Q/S

Project A

Project B

Project C

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Committee Structure

Ad-hoc
- Statutory

(g) Line structure i.e. Rector D/L Registrar Librarian etc.

COMMUNICATION PROCESS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF AN

ENTERPRISE
Communication in the management of an enterprise connotes the flow of
information or authority among individuals in the organization. Communication
is a ‘dynamo’ process. It involves a sender transmitting information in an
appropriate form to ensure the message is understood by the receiver.

Ajagunle Owonijebe Enterprise

CHAIRMAN

MANAGER

SUPERVISOR

WORKERS/EMPLOYEE

Communication process in Ajagunle Owonijebe enterprise is from top to bottom

the workers receive instruction from the superior not from bottom to top.
Planning Techniques
Planning is the first of the series of functions that managers perform. It entails a
mental picture of what the organization is to be, what the organization should
achieve, when it should be achieved, who is to ensure it is achieved and how the
objectives are to be achieved.
If planning entails a metal picture of what the organization is to be, then there
are techniques/method that must be applied by managers to achieve the picture
of what the organization should be.

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Techniques of planning
Organisations adopt different methods of planning , each method with their own
gain/benefits and drawbacks in different situations. Particular
techniques/method is suitable for every situation. Various techniques are:

 Strategic planning
 Action planning
 Tactical planning
 Operational planning
 Assumption based planning
 Contingency planning

Strategic planning: - The aim is to ensure employees and other stakeholders

are working towards a common goal. All energy, focus and resources are
aligned towards achieving the goal of the organization.
Action planning: - This focused on day – to – day activities. Individual, team
or project activities are organized and set out in a time table. This aid in
focusing on the task at hand rather than focusing on the bigger picture.
Tactical planning: - This is build on the strategy plan already set out by
breaking the tasks down into short – term actions and plan. This type of
planning technique is usually drawn out by heads of department became they
have full knowledge of their unit/department and day – to – day running of the
business.
Operational planning: - This planning aligns different functions of the
business i.e. HR or marketing with the overall goals and objectives of an
organization that planning the human resources needed and the budget of each
Assumption Based planning: - This plans make assumptions about the future
and identifying these assumptions are crucial to any plan. Once the assumptions
have been identified it is then important to find out which of the identified
assumption(s) will have the biggest impact on the business if they were to fail.
Contingency planning: - This involves preparing for the worst case scenario to
occur.
Note: All strategies have the potential to fail when they are affected by internal
or external factors.
Planning Skills

To enhance organization objectives, planning and different planning techniques

need to be put in place such as:
 Analytical
 Communicative
 Decisive
 Strong leaders

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Analytical skills: Manager planning in advance to need to be able to analyse
and evaluate a company’s business plan i.e be skilled in market analysis,
feasibility analysis and many more. Only through an analytical eye can strategic
planners decides what steps required to be taken by a company.
Communicative skill: A large part of a strategic planner’s job is
communicating a business plan to employers and employees. They have to
explain by both speaking and writing. The steps employees need to take achieve
company goals. Apart from this strategic planners are active listeners.
Decisive skill: Involve lot of quick decision making. Strategic planners must
select a course of action to help a company to achieve its goals without
waffling.
Strong leaders: A strategic planner has to lead employees towards a common
goal. It takes strong leadership skills. He or she has to inspire, motivate and
ensure all employees remain accountable.

(1) Leading: - Directing is the process of commanding which means

building together, unifying and harmonizing all activities and effort.
Workers/employee are encouraged to make their maximal inputs towards
the attainment of the organizations’ objectives. In directing, a manager
must lead, communicate, motivate, so that goals can be achieved at the
least.
(2) Controlling: - Controlling ensures that everything occurs in conformity
with established rules and expressed command. The process ensures that
crucial activities conform to planned activities. This is used to evaluate
actual performance, compare actual performance to goals and take action
on the differences obtained between performance and goals in
management there are different control methods that can be applied as
appropriate to situation. They are:
(1) Establish standards and methods of measuring performance
      (2) Measure the performance
(3) Determine whether the performance matured the standard.
(4) Take corrective action
NOTE: Control can be strategic, managerial or operational
(3) Organizing: - Is the process of arranging and allocating work, authority
and resources among an organization’s members so they can achieve the
organization’s goals. Different goals requires different structure i.e. An
organization who is into production of bags cannot use the same structure
as organization who into consultancy service. This managers must
endeavour to match its structure to its goals and resources. This is called
organizational design.

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PRINCIPLES OF RECORD KEEPING
The actual/specific record a business/enterprise needs depends on a
number of factors such as the type of business, the company’s goals,
management needs and interest and cost factors.
A basic record keeping system, whether on paper or typed and saved in
the computer system should be:
Principles
 Simple to use for designated employee
 Easy to understand by any of the officer(s) designated to work on it
 The record must be reliable, accurate no mistake of any kind and
consistent
 The record must be designed in such a away to provide information on a
timely basis.
Complete, reliable and accurate financial record keeping is crucial to business in
many ways:
1. In running the finance of the business, an entrepreneur need reliable and
accurate records to make sound and timely decisions, especially in
allocation of funds
2. Accurate records are vital for the percolation of current financial
statement i.e. cash flow, income statement.
3. Good records keeping are critical most especially taxes. Poor and
unreliable records can lead to overpayment or under-payment of
company/business tax.
4. Good and accurate company records provide financial data that assist the
business assets, liabilities, income and expenses. This will aid the
entrepreneur to know and identify both the strength and weakness of the
business operation.
Principles of Audit
Auditing relies upon a set of principle to help make an effective and reliable
objectivity of auditable tool in support of management. The principles
according to ISO 190112011 Audit should be based on these six (6) principles
Integrity: Auditor must audit with all honesty, diligence and responsibility
which is the foundation of professionalism
Fair presentation: Auditors must ensure audit findings, conclusion obligation
to report truthfully and accurately
Due professional Care: Auditors must exercise due care based on importance
of task and confidence in audit client
Confidentiality: Auditors is expected to use his/her discretion and protect
information acquired during audit duties
Independence Auditing must remain independence of the activity being
audited basis for impartiality of audit conclusions

23
Evidence based approach rational method for each audit activities and reports
truthfully and accurately reflect the reliable and reproductible audit conclusions
Principles of Taxation
A good tax system must fulfill certain principles such as: Equality, Certainty,
Convenience, Economy, Flexibility, Efficiency
Equality: The first principle of a good emphasis is of equality according to the
canon of equality every person should pay to the government according to
his/her ability to pay that is in proportion of the income of revenue
Certainty: Another important principle of a good tax system on which Adam
Smith laid a good deal of stress canon certainty to quote the tax which
individual is bound to pay ought to be certain and not arbitrary.
Convenience according to the third canon of Adams smith the sum, time and
manner of payment of a tax should not only be certain but the time and manner
of its payment should also be convenient to the contributor .
Ecconomy (tax buoyancy) :The cost of collecting taxes should be minimal
when compared to the value raked in.
Flexibility It should be possible to change the tax if economic activities
changes or government aims change.
Efficiency A tax should improve the performance of the market or atleast not
significantly reduced the efficiency of market .
TECHNIQUES OF MARKETING AND PRODUCTION IN AN
ENTERPRISE
Sound marketing is crucial to the success of every organization. Marketing is
the process of managing profitable customer relationships. The aim of
marketing is to create value for customers and to capture value from customer
in return (Philip Kotler and Gray Armstrong) . Marketing is a process by which
companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationship in
order to capture value from customers in return.
Many people think of marketing only as selling and advertising, no
wonder every day people are bombarded with T.V commercial, direct mail
offers etc. selling and advertising are only the tip of the marketing iceberg.
Marketing today must be viewed and understood not from the old sense or
tradition but the new sense of satisfying customers’ need i.e. marketer should
understand consumer needs, develop products that provide superior value and
prices, distributes and promote them, their products will sell easily.

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 MARKETING PROCESS
Construct an
Understanding Design a customer intergrades Build profitable Capture value
market place and driven marketing marking relationship and from customer
customer need strategy programme that
create customer in return
deliver superior
deliout
value

MARKET SEGMENTATION
The market consists of many types of customers, products and needs. The
marketer has to determine which segments offer the best opportunities.
Market segmentation: is the process of dividing a market into distinct groups of
buyers, who have different needs, characteristics or behavior and who might
require separate products or marketing programs.
NOTE: organization cannot profitably serve all consumers/customers in a given
market because not all consumers, have the same needs and same financial
cealing.
MARKETING STRATEGY: When target market and segments are identified
and marketing objectives established, serves as the bases for the development of
an appropriate marketing strategy.
Marketing strategy is the marketing logic/approach by which the business unit
tropes to create customer value and achieve profitable customer relationships.
(Philip Kotler and Armstrong).
Marketing targeting: is the process of evaluating each market segments
attractiveness or selecting one or more segments to enter.
NOTE: Marketing strategy should cover major marketing tools such as:
 Price: - price of the company’s product must be competitive in the market
i.e. not too high or too low.
 Distribution: - Direct selling to potential users may be better, but
organization or company may also use stores as retail outlets to provide
delivery to buyers.
 Promotion: - business must examine and consider which promotional
activities are most appropriate to their market.
 Advertising: - Developing an advertising campaign through appropriate
media to reach the target audience emphasing the quality of the product
and quality the company can supply.
 Publicity: - Develop good public relations will the professional buyers
who may exert strong influence on industrial users.
 Personal selling: - follow – up customer leads with a personal
presentation of the product, explaining the gains the product can offer.
Market Research: -
The organization must conduct a market survey in selected areas among those
identified as users of the product(s) and make enquiries about their intention

25
with regards to volume of purchase monthly, weekly, quarterly or yearly. It all
depends on the products.
Marketing Control: - The entrepreneur must monitor or control activities in
the market to ensure that all activities are implemented as plan.
Production: - is part of the business that is responsible for turning raw material
into goods with the help of workers and equipment. The shape, quality and
quantity of the produced goods must meet the customer’s need. The
entrepreneur should as much as possible keep the cost low.
Production process: Is a complex, adaptive, on-going social system. The inter –
relationships between labour, capital and socio – organizational environment are
important in the way they are balanced and coordinated into an integrated
whole.
Production tasks includes:
1. Organization of the workshop – that is who produce what, how much,
where and when.
2. Quality control – high quality and well known is the way to announce
product.
3. Organization of stock – proper organization of stock will aid good
inventory.
4. Operation and maintenance of the equipment: maintenance culture goes a
long to aid durability of equipment, machine etc in the organization.
Productivity improvement factors
Productivity improvement is not all about just doing thing better than what it is
but “doing the right things better”.
The three main productivity factors are:
- Job related
- Resources related
- Environment related
Major categories of productivity factors
External – (not controllable). i.e. are factors that are beyond the control of the
enterprise i.e government policies, taxes etc.
Internal – (controllable) – are factors within the control of the enterprise
NOTE: what is external factor to one organization may end up being an internal
to another. i.e. what is external to enterprise will end up become internal to
national/regional institutions, pressure group/trade union or government.

26
 COMPANIES ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1990 (CAMA)
Preamble
This an act to establish the corporate affairs commission, provide for the in
incorporation of companies and incidental matters, registration of business
names and incorporation of trustees of certain communities, bodies and
association certain. The main features of CAMA 1990 is divided into parts A, B
and C.
PART A
This part deals with incorporated companies, the procedures of incorporating
companies, the function of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), types of
companies, composition of the companies, inflow and outflow of capitals in a
company, types of meetings, merger and acquisition of company(ies) and wind
up of company (ies).
PART B:
1. This part deals with business name:
2. Which business is registrable and unregistrable.
PART C:
This part defines incorporated trustees. These are non-profit organizations. It
deals with the procedure of incorporation, function and composition of
incorporated trustees.
Functions of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) under CAMA Act 1990
The functions of the commission as set out in section 7 of the CAMA are:
 To administer the act, this includes the regulation and supervision of the
formation, incorporation management and the winding up of companies.
 To establish and maintain companies registry and offices in all the state
of the federation and adequately equipped all the offices to discharge its
functions under the Act or any laws in respect of which it is charged with
responsibility.
 Arrange and conduct an investigation into the affairs of any companies
where the interests of the shareholders and the public demand.
 To undertake such other activities as are necessary or expedient for
giving full effect to the provision of the Act. The commission also
registers business names and incorporated trustees as well as provides
wide range of auxiliary services.

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LEGAL STRUCTURE OF BUSINESS
Business is the totality of the economic and commercial life of a nation. It is an
organization whose purpose lies outside the business itself i.e to create
customers.
Business can also be understood as a productive activity geared toward the
realization of objectives such as profitability, customer creation, growth,
survival and satisfaction of owners, workers, consumers, management and
competitors.
Business would be run on a small, medium or large scale. It would be
domestic / international, public or private own. Nigeria legal forms of business
are:
(1) Sole Proprietorship (2) Partnership (3) Companies: - PC& PC
 Sole Proprietorship is one man business. The owner provides the capital,
takes decision and above all assume all risks. This is the most common
business
 The Partnership: - is an association of two or more people carrying on a
business with a view to making profits through the pursuit of lawful
objective. The number of people to form partnership business must not
exceed twenty and not less than two. The people forming the association /
partnership are called partners. The condition guiding the business are
embodied in the partnership
The Limited Liability Company: - (corporation) it is an “artificial being,
invisible and existing only in contemplation of law”. Being a mere creation of
the law, it possesses only the properties which the charter of its creation confess
upon it either expressly or incidental to it very existence. The company has the
right to acquire, own and sell property, sue and be sued.
Types of company formation in Nigeria
1. Private companies: - members are minimum of two (2) and maximum of
fifty (50) own by individual not government.
2. Public companies: - minimum of seven (7) members with no limit of
membership
Factors to Consider in Naming a Business
Naming a business is very critical so as to differentiate it from others. This is
because it has to be its own identity and uniqueness. Below are factors such as:
i. The nature of the business to be undertaken
ii. Types of goods / service to be produced and offered to the public
iii. The environment of the business
iv. The name has to be attractive and appealing
v. The name should be easy to relate with

28
 vi. The name should comply with the necessary requirements of the CAC
– corporate Affairs Commission and many more.

Procedures and Requirement for Registering a Business Name

Registering business name requires among others things. The submission of a
statement in writing on the prescribed forms, signed by the appropriate persons
and containing the following information:
 The name of the business. If the business is being carried out under two
or more business name, each of those business name must be indicated.
 Full address of the principal place of the business and other branches of
the business
 The general nature of the business
 The commencement date – i.e whether before or after coming into the
operation of the Act 1990 (CAMA)
 Professional certificates – incase of one man business or firms intending
to carry any professional business i.e. consultant, surveyor, estate value,
engineers: civil, mechanical, electrical
 Submission of tax clearance certificates for last three years.
 Passport photographs – incase sole proprietorships or firms consisting
only of individual.
NOTE: Additional information and supporting documents may be required if
the business is being run on behalf of another person
Requirements and procedures for incorporating a business
Business is a productive activity geared towards the realization of objective,
such as profitability, growth survival and satisfaction has certain procedures and
vital requirements for incorporating it.
1. Consulting a legal practitioner to prepare all the necessary incorporation
documents.
2. Filing the documents with CAC
3. Payment of all the required fees
4. Issue of certificate of incorporation and a trading certificate (incase of
(PLC) public limited company.
REASONS WHY BUSINESS ARE REGISTERED WITH NAME(S)
(1) To avoid conflicting names
(2) For easy identification
(3) For product classification / identification
(4) Product and service standard maintenance
(5) For customers loyalty

29
VARIOUS AGENCIES RESPONSIBLE FOR ISSUANCE OF LICENSES
AND PERMIT

S/N ORGANIZATION CERTIFICATE / PERMIT / LICENSES

1. NAFDAC – National Agency Foods and drugs
for Food and Drugs
Administration and Control
2. Nigerian Police Fire Arms
3. Export Processing Zones Finance
(EPZ)
4. NIPC – Nigerian Investment Tax Concessions / Pioneer Status
Promotion Commission
5. Nigerian Immigration Service Expatriate Quota
(NIS)
6. SON – Standard Organization Certificate for standards quality control
of Nigeria
7. Nigerian Export Promotion Certification relating to exports
Council (NEPC)
8. State / Federal High Court Stamp duty
9. NCRC – National Copy Right Patents, Trademarks, Designs,
Commission Copyright etc.
10. (FIRS) – Federal Inland Tax / VAT certificate
Revenue Services and Board
of Internal
11. Ministry of Environments Location permit

30