Physical and technological resources required for the operation of a Game business
In this task, I will be describing the main physical and technological resources that are required in a game shop, which is going to be located in Woking town centre. My game shop is going to be called ‘Game Dungeon’. It is important that the business thinks about physical and technological resources so that the business can increase sales. If the business fails to meet all the resources that are required, it can lead to loss of customer’s waste of products and failure of business.
Physical resources
Physical resources are the resources that the business needs to maintain in order to carry out its activities. The physical resources include tangible items that are necessary for a business to run and they are important for all types of businesses.
Building and facilities:
To set up a business you have to make sure that the building (location) is appropriate as well as the site including road traffic, transports links and furniture. Buildings play a vital role in business success and image and it can make potential customers want to work with the business even more. When customers enter the building, they expect good facilities such as front desks, tills because sometimes customers do not like to wait for a long time just to buy one game therefore, it important good facilities, are arranged for them. The location of a building is important because customers do not want to wait for along time in traffic just to go to the store and there should be an easy access for the customers to get there without any trouble. If a business is easily accessible to many customers then the business can get good high ratings and its profit can increase. As my game is a small business, it is important that I have a front desk so the customer’s queries are dealt and other technical problem if they have with XBOX, PS or the games. A storage room is also important to store all the game stock and other expensive games so the store does not look packed. Maybe a toilet as well because as it is a small store and there are not going to be many people working so when it busy the workers doesn’t have to go around the toilet because it will be wasting time.
Material and waste:
Business will need material to be able to operate; this will depend on the type of their operation it runs, the services or products it provides and what the group of employees are expected to do. Small game shop will need shelves to place all the games and other games products and they will need counters (tills) to sell the items and keep the record of their sales. Furniture and light fittings are essential because lights will interact the customers to go to the shop, look at the different games, also they can play some games to check if they are going to like it. . Materials are things like paper and recyclables therefore, we have to make sure all the leaflets we hand out are recyclable and the stock that comes in the boxes are recyclable to save time. We will have to make sure that the material stored in a format where they are easily accessible so they can be made into the products being sold, this would help reduce the amount spent on renewable resources, and this will help the environment.
Plant and Machinery:
The term ‘plant’ is a place where an individual or industrial process takes place. Every business has certain requirement for plants and machinery some businesses have to make their own products therefore, they have to have their own factories to be able to create them. For a small business, it is important to have central heating systems and ventilation system because when it humid it is difficult to work or even go to the shop this will affect the business because they are going to loose customers and loss of profit.
Equipment:
It is vital that the business has the correct equipment to be able to operate efficiently. Equipment is critical for profit and not-for-profit organisation is alike. Without correct equipment, it would be difficult to carry out all the jobs properly. For a small business, it is necessary to have stationery, tills, and computer printers. Computers are essential because you can keep all you stock and sale details. In addition, the colleagues can clock in on the computer when they come in. Tills are necessary to make a purchase and to keep the money out of the sight. The audio system can be used to entertain customers especially during Christmas to amuse and interact customers.
Maintenance and refurbishment:
The term ‘refurbishment’ means when a business gives a new look to the store to make the staff and customers happy. As my store is small, I would get my colleagues to paint to save money, as it is not going to take a lot of time. Daily cleaning is important because some customers bring food inside the store therefore, we have to make there are no stains left on the equipment and etc. all the machinery will need regular maintained and updating so we don’t loose anything because it can bring the store down. If the maintenance does not take place, the machines and the equipment can break down which leads to loss of profit. Refurbishment can help the environment if the new resources are eco-friendly or energy saving, such as installing solar panels this can give a good image for the company as well as saving energy and reducing costs.
Emergency provision:
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires business to draw up policies and provisions what should happen in the event of an emergency. It is important to follow this act to protect customers and employees because if something happens the store is going to be the in charge of paying compensation or fines. Even the store is small it is still important that the employees are given all the training so they know what to do in case if an emergency e.g. event of fire. There should be fire alarms, fire extinguishers, fire exits to reduce the hazard. Regular checks of health and safety provision must take place so that any new equipment can be provided.
Insurance:
The business has to make sure all of their buildings are insured however, if the business owes the building then it will arrange its cover itself but, if the building is leased it is often arranged with the landlord. A fee is paid each month and then the protection is given to the business in the event of if something happens such as vandalism, theft, damage to any equipment and fire hazards. Some Businesses have to ensure their employees, customer and equipment because if something were to happen to a customer or employee, they would claim insurance to pay for the medical bill or to help them in their time of need. However, my business is not big therefore; I will not have to pay for the insurance.
Security:
The building has to be made secure and looked after even when there is no on in the store, to ensure that the business is kept safe from any danger they have security to monitor everything.it is important to have a CCTV camera or alarm systems which are linked to the police to keep the store safe. To keep the games safe it is important not keep them on the display and even if they on the display there should be a security tag on them, which can alert employees if someone tries to steal a game. Most expensive games should be kept in a store room locked away and only take them out if the customer wants to buy them. Before leaving the till, the employees have to make sure there is no money kept in the till and the tills are properly locked and secured. Shutters should be down because it is easy to glance through the window doors therefore, if the shutters are down at night no one is going to be able to see anything.
Technological resources
Technological resources are intangibles resources such as intellectual properties, staff experience skill, software licenses and protection via patents and copyrights.
Intellectual property:
The intellectual property rights are what allow people to have their ideas heard on what they think about the business and how they could improve it and how often they are used and what they are associated with. The main five types of intellectual property consist of video, text, music, designs and drawing. They are all covered within a copyright and have to be protected. As the game shop is not a big store therefore, we might only be playing the videos of the new games to interact customers. To play the songs we ill have to take permission from the artists to avoid copyright. We will use the intellectual property to make sure that everyone within the business gets their ideas and opinions heard because as we are a small store and in future we would like to extend our ideas.
Staff experience and skills:
Staff experience and skills are important in every business even if it is a small business or a big business. Game shop assistant does not require a lot of experience and skills however; you need to know the basics about the games XBOX, Ps to help the customers and to answer their queries. Customer service skills are vital because customers like to be treated in the best way. Bad customer service and affect on the store because customer are not going to go and they are going to be angry which result profit loss and bad reputation.
Software licences:
Many businesses invest a lot of money in software and it day-to-day use. If business do not have licenses or are under licensed are breaking a law therefore, the most businesses carry out software checks to ensure everything is up to date. For a small game shop we only MS office, adobe because it a small shop therefore, they are not going to be using many different software’s.
Protection via patents and copyrights:
It can be difficult and costly for business to protect technological resources. Legislation can help to protect these resources but sometimes it can be difficult to prove if someone has taken your ideas and used it somewhere. A patent gives an inventor the legal right to stop someone from copying their invention without taking their permission. For a small, it is important because many people try to take others ideas easily and copyright. This will help ensure that the new ideas can be developed and manufactured once the ideas have been changed.
In conclusion, to set up a business successfully it is important that you look at physical and technological resources. In my opinion both of the resources are important however, because it is a small business therefore, people will rely more on physical resources than technological to attract customers.
References:
Business book
HYPERLINK “http://steconomice.uoradea.ro/anale/volume/2007/v1-management-and-marketing/61.pdf” http://steconomice.uoradea.ro/anale/volume/2007/v1-management-and-marketing/61.pdf