” Project 4: Case Study

The case below illustrates the importance of the four functions of
management. Many young entrepreneurs with dreams of starting their own
businesses believe that managing a business is simple. This case shows what can
happen when a new owner does not pay adequate attention to important components
of management and

fails to develop or share a mission statement
fails to determine the best way to organize resources,
including personnel
underestimates the importance of recruitment, job design and
descriptions, and training
assumes that motivation will occur naturally
fails to define standards and other measurable outcomes
ignores negative information
delays actions to improve organizational outcomes

Instructions:

You will act as a management consultant to Amanda Smith and
present a series of recommendations to her in response to the concerns
identified above and at least two other concerns based on what you observe
in the case presented below.
You are required to show what you have learned in the
course and educate Amanda as to the importance of the four functions of
management, and therefore should include each of the four functions in
your paper.
Recommendations to Amanda on how to improve the management of
her small business should be succinct but should still persuade Amanda
that the recommendations will have positive outcomes for her
company.
Students are expected to show what they learned in the course
by applying theories and concepts as support to the recommendations.
Your paper should
include a summarization of the control function and describe how it
fits intofits into the planning, organizing, and leading functions.
Part of the summarization should include a discussion of the
importance of accurate and timely information and the link between
planning and controlling.

Format:

Your paper should be in the form of a letter addressed to Amanda.
It should be between four and six pages, double-spaced with a reference page
(cover page and reference page are not included in the 4-6 pages). Use
APA format for in-text citations and references. You are required to use the
textbook and at least two academic or highly respected business publications,
for a total of no less than three references. Students need to paraphrase and
avoid direct quotes.

Information on the APA format is available and academic and
business resource materials can be accessed, through the UMUC online library
using the Library button in the upper right-hand corner of the WebTycho
classroom.

Due
Date:

Submit
to your Assignment Folder as an attachment no later than midnight, Eastern Standard Time, December 16, 2012.

Smith’s
Accounting and Tax Service: Can Amanda Turn Her New Business Around Before It
Is Too Late?

Amanda Smith worked for one of the big accounting firms for six
years. She earned an accounting degree and passed the CPA exam on her first
attempt. She has strong technical skills and was given management
responsibilities for audits and tax services for two or three years.

Amanda always wanted to open up her own business. She wanted to
work in her own community and have the flexibility provided by owning her own
business. Of course, she hoped to make a nice living at it, too.
So, in the fall of 2008, Amanda opened up Smith’s Accounting and
Tax Service with one employee, Lisa. Lisa was an acquaintance of Amanda’s from
her neighborhood. Amanda knew Lisa was looking for a job and had worked with
her on several community events. Amanda and Lisa got along well, so Amanda
hired her.
Lisa was what they used to call a Gal Friday. She did everything.
She did the bookkeeping and secretarial work, answered the phone, set
appointments, placed advertisements, made sure the office was clean and
presentable, and did a host of other things that kept the business moving in
the right direction. Amanda frequently praised Lisa and rewarded her with small
gifts and tokens of appreciation. She promised Lisa that, as the business grew,
so would Lisa’s position in the firm. Lisa felt like she was on the ground
floor of something big.

Amanda developed a mission and a strategy for her business. She
wanted to be the accounting office of choice for small business owners who
needed accounting services, and the tax service of choice for small businesses
and individuals in her community. In her advertisements, she targeted small
businesses and individuals, offering in-office services in addition to
willingness to complete tasks at individuals’ homes. Her motto was “”Have
laptop, will travel.”” She focused on pleasing the client and making her
services convenient.
About mid-December, Amanda starting getting calls for tax
services. It seemed the local H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt offices were
moving their services to a town about 10 miles away. They were consolidating
their locations, and many of their clients didn’t want to travel the extra
miles. What a great opportunity for Amanda!

Amanda advertised in the local paper for accountants with CPA
credentials and experience in tax preparation for small businesses and
individuals. She let Lisa do the interviewing because she was overwhelmed with
clients and was frequently out of the office. Lisa gave Amanda her best
recommendations. Amanda went with Lisa’s recommendations and hired three accountants
on about the first of January.
The four accountants (Amanda and the three new hires) and Lisa met
every Monday morning for a staff meeting during which they all laid out their
work for the week. This gave Lisa an opportunity to know where everyone would
be and for Amanda to see how business was going. Amanda and Lisa held down the
office, and Amanda covered one of the areas while the other three accountants
either worked in the home office or in their assigned areas each day. You can
guess that Amanda had her hands full. She was glad she had hired three
experienced accountants so that she didn’t have to do much checking. She didn’t
have time to check other people’s work unless she gave up sleeping!

Amanda’s small business had grown from two people to five very
quickly. But Lisa was working out well, and the other three employees were CPAs
with experience, so Amanda knew they would know what was expected and how to
complete the work. She relied on the mission and the motto she had developed and
given to them to help guide them in their day-to-day activities. She didn’t
want to be the kind of supervisor who was constantly looking over people’s
shoulders. She had hired professionals in the hopes that she would not have to
use her valuable time to constantly guide and manage other people’s work.

Toward the end of March, Amanda started to overhear phone
conversations between Lisa and various clients that concerned her. She could
hear Lisa repeatedly indicating that she would check on the status of clients’
tax returns and get back to them. Granted, it was hectic, but Amanda worried
that neither she nor Lisa knew the status of the clients’ returns and that they
could not quickly answer the clients’ questions. But Amanda was so busy trying
to meet her own client deadlines that she didn’t have time to worry about the
other three accountants. She would just have to let Lisa take care of it.

April 15, Tax Day, was a Monday, and at the regular staff meeting,
the issue of filing extensions came up. Specifically, one accountant asked if
Lisa could file the online extensions for more than 50 organizations and
individual clients. This seemed like a large number of extensions for such a
small accounting firm. Amanda asked each accountant how many returns he or she
had filed so far. The numbers ranged from 100 to 175. Two of the three
accountants made major requests for extensions. The third accountant only
needed three extensions and could easily file them himself. Amanda had already
filed the five extensions she would need and had completed about 165 returns
herself.

Amanda knew that something wasn’t right, and she vowed to review
what had gone wrong and to fix it for next year.

After tax season was over, Amanda focused on developing other
small business clients. After all, she had three accountants whom she needed to
keep busy and pay all year long. Of course, she hoped that the accountants knew
that part of their job was to bring in new clients. This was how all accounting
firms worked, and her accountants certainly had experience and knew the lay of
the land.
In June, Amanda began to get questions from clients who were
receiving requests for additional information or additional payments from the
IRS and the state treasury. It seems there were some errors in the tax returns
filed by her firm. While Amanda believed that each of her accountants should be
solving his or her own problems, she was worried about the reputation of the firm.
So, she decided that she would work with the other three accountants to figure
out the problems, solve them, and find some pattern to the problems so that
they could be avoided in the future.

For most of the summer, Amanda dealt with solving tax problems
rather than cultivating new clients. The other accountants brought in a few new
clients, but not enough to generate the revenue necessary to keep all the
staff. Amanda was forced to lay off one of the accountants, and it appeared
that she might have to lay off another before the next tax season. In fact,
Amanda was worried about the firm’s ability to make it at all. What if the
clients with the tax problems didn’t come back? Would the firm be able to
complete enough returns to keep everyone busy? Would they have the same
problems as last year?

How did Amanda lose control of her dream? She thought that she had
done a good job of establishing the mission and setting the motto. She had
hired people with the right credentials. She had organized for efficiency. She
had tried to lead by example, and she had not been a micromanager.

Amanda is wondering what she did wrong, and what she should do
next to keep her business and her dream alive.

Project 4: Case Study The case below illustrates the importance of the four functions of
management. Many young entrepreneurs with dreams of starting their own
businesses believe that managing a business is simple. This case shows what can
happen when a new owner does not pay adequate attention to important components
of management andInstructions: Format: Your paper should be in the form of a letter addressed to Amanda.
It should be between four and six pages, double-spaced with a reference page
(cover page and reference page are not included in the 4-6 pages). Use
APA format for in-text citations and references. You are required to use the
textbook and at least two academic or highly respected business publications,
for a total of no less than three references. Students need to paraphrase and
avoid direct quotes.
Information on the APA format is available and academic and
business resource materials can be accessed, through the UMUC online library
using the Library button in the upper right-hand corner of the WebTycho
classroom.Due
Date:Submit
to your Assignment Folder as an attachment no later than midnight, Eastern Standard Time, December 16, 2012.Smith’s
Accounting and Tax Service: Can Amanda Turn Her New Business Around Before It
Is Too Late?
Amanda Smith worked for one of the big accounting firms for six
years. She earned an accounting degree and passed the CPA exam on her first
attempt. She has strong technical skills and was given management
responsibilities for audits and tax services for two or three years.Amanda always wanted to open up her own business. She wanted to
work in her own community and have the flexibility provided by owning her own
business. Of course, she hoped to make a nice living at it, too.So, in the fall of 2008, Amanda opened up Smith’s Accounting and
Tax Service with one employee, Lisa. Lisa was an acquaintance of Amanda’s from
her neighborhood. Amanda knew Lisa was looking for a job and had worked with
her on several community events. Amanda and Lisa got along well, so Amanda
hired her.Lisa was what they used to call a Gal Friday. She did everything.
She did the bookkeeping and secretarial work, answered the phone, set
appointments, placed advertisements, made sure the office was clean and
presentable, and did a host of other things that kept the business moving in
the right direction. Amanda frequently praised Lisa and rewarded her with small
gifts and tokens of appreciation. She promised Lisa that, as the business grew,
so would Lisa’s position in the firm. Lisa felt like she was on the ground
floor of something big.Amanda developed a mission and a strategy for her business. She
wanted to be the accounting office of choice for small business owners who
needed accounting services, and the tax service of choice for small businesses
and individuals in her community. In her advertisements, she targeted small
businesses and individuals, offering in-office services in addition to
willingness to complete tasks at individuals’ homes. Her motto was “”Have
laptop, will travel.”” She focused on pleasing the client and making her
services convenient.About mid-December, Amanda starting getting calls for tax
services. It seemed the local H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt offices were
moving their services to a town about 10 miles away. They were consolidating
their locations, and many of their clients didn’t want to travel the extra
miles. What a great opportunity for Amanda!Amanda advertised in the local paper for accountants with CPA
credentials and experience in tax preparation for small businesses and
individuals. She let Lisa do the interviewing because she was overwhelmed with
clients and was frequently out of the office. Lisa gave Amanda her best
recommendations. Amanda went with Lisa’s recommendations and hired three accountants
on about the first of January.The four accountants (Amanda and the three new hires) and Lisa met
every Monday morning for a staff meeting during which they all laid out their
work for the week. This gave Lisa an opportunity to know where everyone would
be and for Amanda to see how business was going. Amanda and Lisa held down the
office, and Amanda covered one of the areas while the other three accountants
either worked in the home office or in their assigned areas each day. You can
guess that Amanda had her hands full. She was glad she had hired three
experienced accountants so that she didn’t have to do much checking. She didn’t
have time to check other people’s work unless she gave up sleeping!Amanda’s small business had grown from two people to five very
quickly. But Lisa was working out well, and the other three employees were CPAs
with experience, so Amanda knew they would know what was expected and how to
complete the work. She relied on the mission and the motto she had developed and
given to them to help guide them in their day-to-day activities. She didn’t
want to be the kind of supervisor who was constantly looking over people’s
shoulders. She had hired professionals in the hopes that she would not have to
use her valuable time to constantly guide and manage other people’s work.Toward the end of March, Amanda started to overhear phone
conversations between Lisa and various clients that concerned her. She could
hear Lisa repeatedly indicating that she would check on the status of clients’
tax returns and get back to them. Granted, it was hectic, but Amanda worried
that neither she nor Lisa knew the status of the clients’ returns and that they
could not quickly answer the clients’ questions. But Amanda was so busy trying
to meet her own client deadlines that she didn’t have time to worry about the
other three accountants. She would just have to let Lisa take care of it.April 15, Tax Day, was a Monday, and at the regular staff meeting,
the issue of filing extensions came up. Specifically, one accountant asked if
Lisa could file the online extensions for more than 50 organizations and
individual clients. This seemed like a large number of extensions for such a
small accounting firm. Amanda asked each accountant how many returns he or she
had filed so far. The numbers ranged from 100 to 175. Two of the three
accountants made major requests for extensions. The third accountant only
needed three extensions and could easily file them himself. Amanda had already
filed the five extensions she would need and had completed about 165 returns
herself.Amanda knew that something wasn’t right, and she vowed to review
what had gone wrong and to fix it for next year.After tax season was over, Amanda focused on developing other
small business clients. After all, she had three accountants whom she needed to
keep busy and pay all year long. Of course, she hoped that the accountants knew
that part of their job was to bring in new clients. This was how all accounting
firms worked, and her accountants certainly had experience and knew the lay of
the land.In June, Amanda began to get questions from clients who were
receiving requests for additional information or additional payments from the
IRS and the state treasury. It seems there were some errors in the tax returns
filed by her firm. While Amanda believed that each of her accountants should be
solving his or her own problems, she was worried about the reputation of the firm.
So, she decided that she would work with the other three accountants to figure
out the problems, solve them, and find some pattern to the problems so that
they could be avoided in the future.For most of the summer, Amanda dealt with solving tax problems
rather than cultivating new clients. The other accountants brought in a few new
clients, but not enough to generate the revenue necessary to keep all the
staff. Amanda was forced to lay off one of the accountants, and it appeared
that she might have to lay off another before the next tax season. In fact,
Amanda was worried about the firm’s ability to make it at all. What if the
clients with the tax problems didn’t come back? Would the firm be able to
complete enough returns to keep everyone busy? Would they have the same
problems as last year?How did Amanda lose control of her dream? She thought that she had
done a good job of establishing the mission and setting the motto. She had
hired people with the right credentials. She had organized for efficiency. She
had tried to lead by example, and she had not been a micromanager.Amanda is wondering what she did wrong, and what she should do
next to keep her business and her dream alive.”