Title - A franchise prototype is a web of integrated systems Tags - businesssystems franchise
A fully functioning franchise prototype is a complex, but easy to run, web of connected systems and processes that make up the business and fulfil the primary aim.
There are three categories of systems:
- Hard Systems
These are inanimate objects (things that don’t have any like) that make up your business, such as computers and colors.
- Soft Systems
These are the ideas and living things in your business, like you and your employees.
- Information Systems
These include the data on your business that tells you what’s working, what’s not and when it’s time to change.
For example, in a cafe, hard systems might include an espresso machine; soft systems might include employee attitudes; and information systems might include data on what customers buy.
All of these systems have to work together.
If the different systems - and types of system - don’t work well together, the business is likely to fail. Therefore, when you make a change to one type of system, you need to work on any other’s that will also be affected.
For example, in a cafe, if you change the espresso machine for a newer model, that’s a change to the hard system. To make that decision, you’ll have to consider how the other systems will be affected. The soft system could be compromised if employees love the current machine and don’t want to learn how to operate a new one. Then the information system will have to monitor customer behavior to ensure the new machine isn’t making crappy lattes and hurting sales.
[#gerber2001emyth]: Michael E. Gerber (2001): The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It, HarperBus.