Delicious Bakery in the Scott County of Minnesota Business Operations - Case Study Example

Delicious Bakery Name Institution Business Plan: Delicious Bakery Executive Summary Delicious Bakery is meant to be established in the Scott County of Minnesota to provide the residents with all sorts of high quality American baked dishes including all types of cakes, brownies, tarts and different types of specialty desserts. The company would also extend its hand to offer services for special orders such as birthday celebrations and other kinds of parties, including home delivery after-sale services. All information about the company, plus its online catalogue with details on the menu and prices of products will be available on www.deliciousbakery.comfor customers to shop, compare prices and make orders from the comfort of their homes. The company needs not to start up too small, thus will take a partnership formation of three members to uplift the monetary obligations that will help in a smooth set up of the business. That means there will be stakeholders involved in running the company, all who will have equal liability on losses and the legal obligations such as tax, and in return they will all share in the profits which the business intends to make, periodically as per the agreement of the members.The partners will sign every legal document that is required by law, including the Articles of Association or the Partnership Agreement (U.S Small Business Administration, 2016).Each partner will contribute to all aspects of the business, including the start-up money, property, labor or skill for its success. The company recognizes that competition in the business may affect its growth and expansion, thus it plans to build a strong market position in the county, due to the partners' industry experience and mild competitive climate in the area. Legal steps to be followed to start up After identifying the structure of the business as a partnership, the following legal steps will be followed. i. Registration of the Company Name The process is referred to as registering your ‘Doing Business As’ (DBA), and it involves registering the company with the name Delicious Bakery as part of the branding exercise with the Minnesota State Government.The exercise is meant to personify the company by giving it a name that will be recognized and referred to.This legal name will then be acknowledged by the government, and thereafter required on all government forms and applications (U.S Small Business Administration, 2016) ii. Register for the Federal and State Tax Obligations Besides the mandatory federal government taxation, the business will need to determine how much taxes it will obliged to pay to the state and other local county taxes, including the obvious income taxes, and also employee taxation for all of Delicious’ employees. Employees working for the company are expected to have their salaries and wages taxed by the government, thus filing and documenting their salary scales will help the federal and state government determine the percentage of taxation to impose as per individual earnings.Unemployment taxes are paid by employers to the federal and state government in order to fund unemployment compensation benefits for out-of-work employees. iii. Obtain the Business Licenses & Permits The business will need to have certain federal and state licenses and permits that will help in understanding the requirements the business should adhere to.Every business is permitted to be involved in specific business activities, and deviation from the acceptable lines of business is subject to prosecution. The restrictions on certain kinds of business practices will be complied lest thebusiness runs into legal problems. iv. Understand the Employer Responsibilities The company has to understand its employer accountabilities before hiring an employee. The partnership, as an employer, has to have an orientation on how to administer duties and manage resources within the business unit.Every employee is under the employer, and all legal duties expected of them (employees) is answerable to the authorities by management (employer). This includes obtaining an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the purposes of reporting taxes and other documents to the IRS.Delicious will also be obliged to set up records for withholding taxes, both at the federal and state levels, to aid in monitoring the business’s progress and prepare financial statements. Moreover, employee eligibility verification is mandatory to ensure that employees are in the country legally. Newly hired employees must also be reported to the state directory, and all workers’ compensations insurance be in order.Additionally, necessary posters such as a list of employee responsibility and rights should be displayed, and finally al taxes be filed (A Touch of Business, 2011) Valid Contract Sample Delicious Bakery I ………………… employee (seller) at Delicious Bakery Date…………. Sign…………. I ………………… customer from …………, Scott County Date…………. Sign…………. Hereby agree that the seller shall sell and the buyer shall purchase the following property of the terms and conditions provided below; Description …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Price (Tax Inclusive) Paid ……………………. ………………… Balance……....... To be paid by (date)……………. Mode of Payment …………………. The sale of the product is ‘as is’, therefore no warranties needed. (Terms and conditions apply) Ethical Considerations Delicious Bakery will; Not sellexpired or stale productsto customers, butfreshly baked ones Ensure that it works at a clean environment and the products are healthy enough for human consumption Ensure accountability and accept a return of goods that may not have met the expectations of a client Accept to reconcile receipts of sale and purchase from customers and suppliers, and compensate where applicable Ensure employees treat customers with courtesy, respect and with priority at all times Demonstrate loyalty in terms of beingpunctual in attending to customers and delivery of orders placed by customers Ensure fairness in the treatment of employees, by avoiding bias and making sure every employee is paid on time and as per amount of work done Adherence to all these codes and principles is expected to boost the company’s brand and thereby resulting in the best consequences for all parties. Community Social Responsibility plan The company will devote itself in monthly cleaning of the environment and educate the community on the importance of proper dumping to avoid sewage blockages and prevent diseases.This would also include building public toilets within the community for the residents to utilize. In light of recruiting employees, Delicious will also offer internship programs for students in the community who would be winding up on their college education in the hotel industry, and offer them job opportunities as the bakery requires.Free tuition for willing students who would be interested in learning some basic tips for their own home baking practice. Lastly, on a monthly basis, the bakery will offer free cakes and other meals to help the needy in orphanages and community homes for the homeless (Reynolds, 2008). Conflict among Members There is a possibility of disagreements between the partners as the business progresses, since each of them has opinions that may differ in different circumstances. One could be a difference in opinion about acquisition of property for the company, where on side would support the purchase of an equipment while the other side argues it is a waste of resources and that the deal would not help the business. Another dispute may be about adding more partners, which would have an effect on the profits, an issue that some members would not agree to. On top of that, issues to do with duties and responsibilities allocated to each partner may arise, where a member may feel that he or she has been given a more demanding section in the business to handle, alleging that some members do lighter duties. Other stake holders such as suppliers may default the initial agreements, for instance timely delivery of raw materials, which would interfere with the running of the business and result in conflicts. The bank or any other financial institution from which the business borrowed loans to start the business may increase their interest rates at a later date, thus affecting the relationship with the business. Methods of Handling Disputes Negotiation The underlying spirit of a partnership is communication, and the ability to communicate efficiently results in success of the business. This would be put to test during conflicts, where the partners in dispute would be subjected to talks in trying to persuade them to resolve the issues before taking other major steps. As long as the disputing parties are willing to table their issues, the disagreements will be handled at the business level. This may involve reviewing the contents of the partnership agreement for better understanding and reminding each disputing member of the legality of the signed agreement (U.S Legal Forms, 2016). Mediation In case the disputing partners do not want to negotiate, an independent party, with no interest on either parties as acknowledged by both parties in dispute, may come in to listen as the issues are tabled. The mediator will give his or her opinions on how to resolve the matter, offering a middle ground which the disputing partners are free to agree or disagree. By referring to the details in the Articles of Association and elaborating some sections that may not have been clear, the partners then may have a different perspective on the terms and conditions. If the mediation leads to a common understanding, the partners may be forced to sign an extra agreement form to make the reconciliation official. Court Action The Industrial Court is the final arbiter in cases where negotiation, mediation and other means of dispute resolution has failed. The business will take the matter to court for a decision to be enforced based on the agreements in the Article of Association concerning all the liabilities of the members. A judge will decide mandatory repercussions which the disputing parties have to abide by or face legal action (U.S Legal Forms, 2016). However, the business may avoid disputes by ensuring that there is an implementation of management agreement such as the partnership agreement, prior to the start of the business. All the procedures of handling issues internal to the business would be outlined and the partners made away so that disputes would not be handled at levels such as the court. The management agreement can require the partners accept mediation to handle their issues, or it can specify that one partner has the final say in certain matters. This would reduce occurrence of disputes or prevent issues from escalating to the higher levels of law, which usually is time consuming and affects the smooth running of the business as well as the relationships among the partners. Reference A Touch of Business. (2011). How to Start a Bakery. A Collection of Hand Picked Business Ideas. Retrieved from http://www.atouchofbusiness.com/tips/ideas/BakeryBusiness-0015.html Reynolds, M. (2008). Bakeries appeal to discerning customers. Retrieved from. http://modern-baking.com/foodservice_baking/bakeries_appeal_discerning_1108/ U.S Legal Forms (2016). Agreement Forms. Retrieved from http://www.uslegalforms.com/agreementforms/ U.S Small Business Administration. (2016). Starting & Managing. Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/starting-business/how-start-business/10-steps-starting-business Read More