Business resources are an integral economic component. These are necessary tools in order to produce and sell goods or services. So what are they like?
general information
Let's talk about business development resources. They can be represented in the form of two models. The first includes individually all economic resources business. These are:
- Commodity stocks.
- Property.
- Personnel.
- Cash.
- Professional competency.
- Knowledge.
- Innovation
- Information.
- Technology.
- Other opportunities and ways to carry out commercial activities.
In the second model, four main groups are distinguished:
- Financial. This includes securities, cash, as well as funds placed on current accounts.
- Informational. These are data, files, documents and software.
- Personnel. This includes staff, as well as everything related to it - organization, optimization, motivation, control.
- Material. This group includes equipment, materials and raw materials.
Let’s say a word about sources
Before reaching a certain goal, we must have the prerequisites, peculiar elements that can be put together and turned into a real result. To do this, you need to find out what the sources of business resources are. Conventionally, they can be divided into internal and external. The former refers to hidden reserves that can be used to obtain the desired result. This is net profit, and reserves, and stable liabilities, and much more like that.
Under external sources of resources understand the use of authorized capital, the state, citizens, various organizations and so on. It should be noted that business resources are the driving business. And if you properly dispose of them, you can get more effective results. You will avoid problems such as the irrationality of the use of available funds, high costs, crisis.
It is always important that the resources of a small business, medium or large, are correctly distributed in the enterprise. In case of insufficient optimization, the profit, income and competitive advantages of the business being promoted will be affected first. Also, the presence of a well-designed management system helps to achieve planned goals thanks to a reasonable and balanced distribution of resources. Care must be taken to ensure that all sources are aligned with the strategic aspirations of optimization.
Practical features
The need for resources is limitless. But in reality, alas, they are always finite. This is due to their nature of production, payment, creation and exhaustion. Therefore, optimal actions with limited potential and rational use of the opportunities are one of the key conditions for success. Due to this, such features arise:
- Attraction of resources takes place in specialized markets (as an example, capital markets and labor). At the same time, there is competition.
- Resources possess such properties as interchangeability, complexity, mobility, combination.
- Cost is often determined by the price of what you had to spend to get the necessary benefits.
- It is also constantly important to remember that the law of diminishing returns on resources operates in the time interval.
And, despite all of the above, resources are in demand, and no activity without them is not possible. Thanks to them, value propositions are created that enter the market and allow you to make a profit. Moreover, the use of each individual resource depends on the business model being implemented. So, for the research program, human capital is of the greatest importance. For large retail chains, material resources come first. Let's take a closer look at the groups of the second model.
Material resources
Such resources include production facilities, buildings, equipment, vehicles and other property of the enterprise, distribution networks and points of sale. As the most dependent on this group, we can repeatedly mention large retail chains. They require large investments to create a large number of stores and related infrastructure. Something similar can be cited regarding those organizations that operate on the Internet. For example, take the same store. In this case, the presence of a developed network of storage and delivery of goods to the client is of great importance to him.
Business Information Resources
This includes various intellectual property such as trademarks, rights (such as copyrights), patents, client and partner databases. They are important components of business models. Various insider information, which should remain inaccessible to a wide range of people, also plays a large role. Creating this kind of resource is not easy. But if successful, it brings significant profits. Examples include Sony and Nike. For them, the created trademarks are the key to success and large-scale product sales. Something similar can be said about Microsoft - they own software that was created and bought over the decades of the existence and operation of the company.
Staff
This resource cannot be ignored by any business. But some models provide the most careful selection among people. Special requirements can often be seen from high-tech production or the creative team. And it is not surprising, because in such cases, success largely depends on the qualifications and ability of each person to interact with the entire team in general and with each member in particular. Although in the same science, communication skills are unimportant in comparison with talent and the ability to solve a wide range of various complex problems.
Business financial resources
It is almost impossible to meet a business model that would not require financial resources and / or warranties. They may include credit lines, cash, and bank guarantees. Let's consider the last option. Its use is popular in the construction industry. So, large customers, as a rule, require that contractors provide financial security. And a specific feature of the business leads to the fact that the bank guarantee is considered the most optimal for this case.