Assess How the Management of Physical, Human and Technological Resources Can Improve the Performance of a Business

UNIT 2 Merit

Assess how the management of physical, human and technological resources can improve the performance of a business

Introduction

In this document I will be providing two examples from physical resources, technological resources and human resources and detailing on how they can improve the performance of a selected business which I have chosen to be Equitrade Capital Stock brokers.

Physical Resources

The first physical resource I will be talking about is the Premises of the business. One way the premises improves the performance of the business is through location, being located on the Hagley road has its benefits for a small business. This is because there are a lot of local businesses in the area due to the fact that we are located near Birmingham town centre. This gives us access to a wide variety of businesses in the area. As seen in the picture of the building, the right size building allows for cost effectiveness as we have full use of all space in the building. Being a small stockbrokers we don’t require large amounts of space, we only have 2 offices, one main room which holds the desks of 7 employees and the main office in which the director sits.

Another physical resource which can improve performance if managed correctly is written documentation. These can be either legal documentation such as trading account set up forms or written documentation such as daily or weekly market reports. The daily market report is a brief look into what stocks and commodities Equitrade Capital have their eye on as well as the big market movers for that day. The daily report tends to be quite brief while providing substantial information for that day. The weekly report however goes into a lot more detail providing a wider view on big weekly movers. Both of these documents are available for download for free on the company website. In terms of how it helps improve the business, because these documents are available for download for free we can use them as a way to generate business as all the company contact details are on each document allowing interested parties to inquire more into the business. As for the forms to set up a trading account, we present them and explain them to clients in an easy to understand manner which helps improve our relationship with clients by using the documentation as a contract between a stockbroker and their client. As a broker you will be the only employee dealing with your own client base which means a one to one relationship is formed on a basis of contractual trust.

Technological Resources

The first technological resource I will be talking about is the software we use. The main piece of software would be the IG Trading platform, this allows us to monitor positions in stocks both for ourselves as well as clients by providing us with real time updates. The way this helps to improve the business is through the use of this feature which allows us to make sure clients shares stay at a certain price so we can possibly sell them at a profit when the price rises. Trades can also be placed through the trading platform but at a delay so we use it solely to watch the market in real time. This constant monitoring improves relationships with our clients and team due to the fact that if the client knows that the broker has a constant eye on their shares and will notify them of changes in price there is that sense of safety. The way this helps build team relationships is through the fact that other employees can also watch these stocks if the broker is unable to and can notify the broker of the changes. This builds a sense of trust between employees which is good for the business even though brokers tend to operate on an individual basis at Equitrade.

The second technological resource of note is the telephone which is vital for the day to day running of the business. The telephone is used to generate business through the calling of potential clients by the sales team and also by the stock brokers to be able to contact their clients whenever needed. The way this improves the performance of Equitrade Capital is through the ability to arrange meetings over the phone and follow them up in person. Also because phone calls are verbal and you are talking direct to the client you can easily explain any queries over the phone. The phone is also used to put through trades and place orders on shares as this is done seconds after the call is made whereas on the trading platform there can be delays in information. This improves the image of the business and allows us to have a greater control over investments of our clients and ourselves by having access to the ability to sell shares at certain price and then having them sell once the stock his that price. This control is why our clients trust us and also if a specific broker can’t be reached it is possible for another employee to make this phone call on their behalf therefore working as a team and improving team relations.