NOTE: By the end of Week 7, submit the following files to the Structuring a Business folder. · narrated PowerPoint with recommended legal form of business · short paper including mission statement, organization chart, and rationale Structuring a Business Transcript [MUSIC PLAYING] It has always been your dream to have your own business. You and your childhood friend Ravi have developed a product called Sunburst that could be used by the growing solar energy industry Tanya, a friend you met through an alumni group, has experience in marketing. The three of you agreed to form the startup team for Sunburst and you gather together one weekday morning to discuss the legal form and organizational structure your business should take. We're going to need additional investors and expertise to get this business off the ground, Ravi says. We should develop a business plan that will be attractive to potential investors and partners. They're going to have concerns about joining a new startup, Tanya says. We should work to address these from the start. Ravi looks to you. Can you prepare a PowerPoint presentation for potential investors? Let them know what legal form the business is going to take and explain why it works for our company. You should include your analysis on personal liability, taxes, interests of contributing parties, and management of the business. We want them to know we've done our homework. Tanya interrupts, the other thing is we have to decide what organization structure would best serve our goals. That's right, Ravi says. We've already identified innovation and timely customer service as our top priorities for Sunburst. We know we need staff to handle product development, production, finance and accounting, and marketing and sales. We're definitely going to need human resources functions, Tanya says. Outsourcing is one option we should look into. We need to do some research before we make a decision. Ravi looks to you again. I think we need to develop a clear mission statement and an organization chart and explain the rationale for our decisions in a short paper. You're the most detail-oriented. You think you can handle it? [MUSIC PLAYING] In this project, you are determining the best legal form and organizational structure for your new business. The nature of the organization's business and the environment the business operates in are factors you must consider. Initially, Sunburst will operate locally, but within five years operations will go national (or international). Read about how you might plan these stages in Creating and Managing a New Business. In the first part of this project, you will create a narrated PowerPoint presentation for potential investors and partners in your new company. In this presentation, you will analyze the pros and cons of various forms of business and recommend the best legal form of business to achieve your organization's goals. In the second part of this project you will design an effective organiza ...

1. NOTE: By the end of Week 7, submit the following files to the
Structuring a Business folder.
· narrated PowerPoint with recommended legal form of business
· short paper including mission statement, organization chart,
and rationale
Structuring a Business Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
It has always been your dream to have your own business. You
and your childhood friend Ravi have developed a product called
Sunburst that could be used by the growing solar energy
industry Tanya, a friend you met through an alumni group, has
experience in marketing. The three of you agreed to form the
startup team for Sunburst and you gather together one weekday
morning to discuss the legal form and organizational structure
your business should take.
We're going to need additional investors and expertise to get
this business off the ground, Ravi says. We should develop a
business plan that will be attractive to potential investors and
partners. They're going to have concerns about joining a new
startup, Tanya says. We should work to address these from the
start.
Ravi looks to you. Can you prepare a PowerPoint presentation
for potential investors? Let them know what legal form the
business is going to take and explain why it works for our
company. You should include your analysis on personal
liability, taxes, interests of contributing parties, and
management of the business. We want them to know we've done
our homework.
Tanya interrupts, the other thing is we have to decide what
organization structure would best serve our goals. That's right,
Ravi says. We've already identified innovation and timely
customer service as our top priorities for Sunburst. We know we
need staff to handle product development, production, finance

2. and accounting, and marketing and sales.
We're definitely going to need human resources functions,
Tanya says. Outsourcing is one option we should look into. We
need to do some research before we make a decision. Ravi looks
to you again. I think we need to develop a clear mission
statement and an organization chart and explain the rationale for
our decisions in a short paper. You're the most detail-oriented.
You think you can handle it?
[MUSIC PLAYING]
In this project, you are determining the best legal form and
organizational structure for your new business. The nature of
the organization's business and the environment the business
operates in are factors you must consider. Initially, Sunburst
will operate locally, but within five years operations will go
national (or international). Read about how you might plan
these stages in Creating and Managing a New Business.
In the first part of this project, you will create a narrated
PowerPoint presentation for potential investors and partners in
your new company. In this presentation, you will analyze the
pros and cons of various forms of business and recommend the
best legal form of business to achieve your organization's goals.
In the second part of this project you will design an effective
organizational structure for the business at its inception and in
its next phase of growth. To achieve this, you'll need to create
one short paper with three sections: (1) a brief mission
statement reflecting the primary goals of the business, (2) a
detailed organization chart, and (3) a rationale statement that
explains and supports, thoroughly but succinctly, the mission
statement and structural decisions reflected in the organization
chart.
When you submit your project, your work will be evaluated
using the competencies listed below. You can use the list below
to self-check your work before submission.
Step 1: Determine the Legal Structure of Your Business: Gather

3. and Analyze Information
You go to your office to begin the task at hand—the preparation
of a narrated PowerPoint presentation to potential investors that
will address all of the issues involved in making this decision.
For critical background information, see Creating Sunburst:
Legal and Organizational Considerations. You will need this
information to make the best legal and organizational decisions
for your business.
Since one of the investors will not be able to attend a
presentation in person, you need to prepare and record a
narrated PowerPoint, so she can listen at her convenience. In
order to complete this task, you realize that you must do some
research to address the legal and strategic implications if your
business is to get off the ground.
· What types of business organizations are available to
entrepreneurs?
· What are the advantages and disadvantages of each
alternative?
· What are the two best choices and why?
· How would you explain your choices to your investors?
Be sure to discuss the following information in your plan (refer
to Legal Forms of Business before you begin writing):
· What are the different legal forms of business that you might
consider? You remember that there are at least six factors that
will influence your choice:
· creation and maintenance
· continuity
· ownership and control
· personal liability
· compensation and division of profits
· taxation
· What is your proposed choice for the legal form of business?
Include your reasoning based on the preceding six factors and
any other relevant factors.
When your research is complete, continue to the next step, in
which you will create the Powerpoint presentation for your

4. investors.
Creating Sunburst: Legal and Organizational Considerations
Ravi, who has a degree from State University in mechanical
engineering, was previously employed by a start-up firm in New
York City. He worked long hours for little pay, but when the
business sold, his stock options paid off. As a result, he now
has some time and $100,000 to invest in Sunburst. More
importantly, Ravi has the knowledge and know-how to setup
and manage production. Tanya, a friend you met through your
alumni association, has a degree in marketing and has a few
years of experience working in marketing roles. The three of
you agree to form the start-up team for Sunburst.
The team estimates that it will take approximately two years to
develop Sunburst into a marketable product, but that once the
product is on the market, there is excellent growth potential.
You know that you will need additional investors and expertise
to get the business off the ground. You need to develop a plan
for a business form that will be attractive to potential investors
and partners, and will address their concerns.
Finance and politics are not your strong suits, and you aren't
very interested in the day-to-day business operations of
Sunburst—you'd rather spend most of your time inventing new
products. The start-up team believes that the business will need
someone with finance skills. You also need a visionary CEO.
Ideally, this person should have connections and experience in
the solar industry. You have asked Elon Helios, a forward-
thinking figure in the solar energy field, who is known for being
a rainmaker. Helios has expressed some interest, but it will take
significant incentives to get him on board.
Although Tanya has little money to invest, she has excellent
networking skills, and she has found a potential investor,
Carmen Santiago, who thinks that the product may have
potential. Santiago does not want to be involved in running the
business.
Ravi has identified a good candidate with finance experience.
This individual does not want to invest in the company, but he

5. would expect a good salary and benefits.
The team has created a tentative business plan, which has two
target stages: The first stage involves local (geographical
region) manufacturing with a focus on local solar energy
providers; the second stage will begin five years from start-up,
at which point the business will expand nationally (or possibly
internationally) targeting the market of all potential solar
energy customers.
The potential investors and participants want to know what
legal form the business will take before they agree to
participate. Your task is to prepare a presentation for the
potential investors.
Legal Forms of Business
Business entities are an integral part of business practice and
economic productivity. An effective business practitioner must
understand the characteristics of the major types of business
entities, as these attributes can dramatically affect the nature of
the business's relationships. Before beginning to conduct
business, one should always weigh the benefits and burdens of
the different types of business entities and make a conscious
decision about which type of entity to form to conduct one's
business.
Depending on the type of business, the people involved, and the
goals of the business, some entities may be more appropriate
than others for a particular business. To make the decision
about the appropriate type of entity to form, one should
consider factors including the following:
· creation & maintenance—the effort associated with forming
and maintaining the entity
· continuity—the continuity or stability of the organization
upon given occurrences
· ownership & control—the ownership rights and control of
those involved with the business
· personal liability—the potential for personal liability of those
involved with the business

6. · compensation—the compensation and division of profits
among business owners
· taxation—the taxation of the organization's earnings and its
distributions of profits to the owners
Weighing these and related factors, which vary in consequence
depending on the entity, informs the choice of the type of
business entity best suited to one's business. Examination of
these characteristics will make obvious the effect of these
attributes on stakeholders of the business entity. The decision of
which entity is right for a particular business impacts many
facets of a business's operation, including accounting,
management, and finance.
Step 2: Prepare Your Presentation
Using the information you gathered in the previous step,
prepare a narrated PowerPoint. Because you will not deliver this
presentation in person, it should follow the form
of asynchronous presentations. Be sure to meet the following
requirements:
· Include a title slide, with your name on it, introducing the
presentation.
· On the presentation slides, include only the major bullet
points for each issue.
· Include no more than 15 slides (not counting title page or
references list).
· Cover all the elements of your plan as outlined in Step 1.
· Use your narration to provide the supporting rationale for each
major bullet point.
· Include a script of your narration in the notes section of
PowerPoint.
· The final slide must present a clear summary of your major
conclusions and any recommendations.
· Include a reference page in APA format citing any sources you
used to develop your presentation.
· Title your files using this protocol: yourlastname_Business
Form_date.

7. When your presentation is complete, continue to the next step,
in which you will gather information about the potential
organization structure for your business.
Asynchronous Presentations
An asynchronous presentation is a pre-recorded presentation for
a specific audience to whom you would ideally present in
person or online in real time, but cannot for practical reasons.
While MS PowerPoint is considered the default presentation
tool for presentations, you may consider using other
presentation platforms or tools. Be sure the tool supports pre-
recorded narration. Dedicate enough time to the narrated
presentation to get the timing for transitions right, and ensure
that the sound is clear and the narration at the right volume. A
good asynchronous presentation shares most of the same traits
as a good live presentation. Your presentation should not be
your academic paper cut into text-filled slides. Rather, consider
how you might identify themes to discuss that are supported by
pertinent facts from your paper. You are giving a talk to an
audience, so your narrative should provide most of your ideas
and argumentation. Be sure the themes either flow or transition
appropriately from slide to slide. Use images and data
visualization (tables, charts, or graphs, for example) where
possible.
Step 3: Determine Your Organization's Structure: Gather and
Analyze Information
Now that you have decided on a legal organization form for
your business, which currently has a single location, you need
to decide on an organization structure. Organization structure
determines such things as what departments the organization
will need, who will report to whom, how many levels you will
have in your organization's hierarchy, and how many
individuals will report to each manager (span of control). An
effective structure should promote communication and
coordination of efforts across the entire organization.
See: Organization Structure and Design.
You begin your research by formulating a number of questions,

8. the answers to which will be reflected in a short paper that
includes your mission statement, organization chart, and your
rationale for these recommendations.
1. Sunburst's primary goals are innovation and customer
responsiveness. How should your mission statement articulate
these goals? How can this statement be drafted so that it is
clear, concise, and meaningful to organization stakeholders?
2. What key tasks must be accomplished in order to meet the
organization's goals? What individuals or groups will have
responsibility for delivering these processes or items?
3. Will individuals have titles and, if so, which individuals?
What will those titles be?
4. To whom will individuals report? Why?
5. What are the possible impacts of outsourcing the HR
function? What are the pros and cons of doing so? Make a
recommendation in your paper. If you decide to keep HR in
house, make sure its place in your business structure is reflected
in your organization chart.
6. Consider all other relevant factors (for example, will your
business structure be functional, centralized, or decentralized,
etc.).
When you have formulated your preliminary thoughts and
questions, begin your research. The resources below are a good
start, but you should also conduct your own research to enhance
your knowledge and the final product.
When your research is complete, continue to the next step, in
which you will write your short paper, which will include a
mission statement, organization chart, and summary of the
rationale behind your decisions
Organization Structure and Design
The structure of an organization plays a pivotal role in how
everyday tasks are handled, in how resources are allocated, in
employee supervision and reporting, and in coordination
amongst employees. It impacts employee behavior, demeanor,
and psyche in ways that are still being studied by theorists

9. today. Organizational structure may play a role in employee
motivation and even productivity.
A primary factor in creating and managing a new business
involves choosing the best organizational structure for it. Some
types of business are better suited for a clear hierarchical
structure, while others are more apt to work within a flatter
organizational structure, with fewer or even no levels of
authority. From time to time, a business may reorganize, as
online shoe retailer Zappos did when moving from a hierarchy
to a flatter "holacracy.” There were reportedly mixed results
spurring from this major shift in business structure.
As the Zappos case and others reveal, business structure plays
an integral role in organizational success. Thus, one should
clearly define the initial organizational structure at the outset of
starting a new business and monitor it through the business life
cycle, tweaking it and shifting it as necessary.
References
Reingold, J. (2016, March 4). How a Radical Shift Left Zappos
Reeling. Retrieved February 07, 2017, from
http://fortune.com/zappos-tony-hsieh-holacracy/
Mission Statement
In the contemporary economic environment, businesses must
often take on roles beyond those of mere profit centers. A well-
crafted mission statement assists in defining the role of a
company by succinctly outlining its core purpose and values.
All other organizational documents, such as codes of conduct,
should be created to support the mission statement of the
organization. Once crafted, a mission statement should play a
role in employee training, advertising, and management. It is
the core principle that states who (as a business) we are, and
what (as a business) we do.
Outsourcing the HR Function
Outsourcing is a technique used by some companies in which
they transfer or contract out certain work to external companies,

10. typically in an effort to save costs. Outsourcing the human
resources ("HR") function involves the transfer of the tasks
usually performed internally by human resources employees to
external companies. Depending on the structure of the
organization, the human resources office often handles such
matters as managing employee compensation and benefits,
recruiting new employees, ensuring compliance with employee
rights and safety laws, overseeing employee relations, and often
the provision of certain employee training.
There are advantages and disadvantages associated with
outsourcing the HR function. In addition to the potential cost
savings, outsourcing the HR function provides companies with a
means of garnering expertise in the growingly complex areas of
employee rights and employment compliance without hiring
additional staff. Outsourcing the HR function may also give
companies, whether large or small, a layer of protection from
some lawsuits. By outsourcing, a company can more readily
focus on its primary purpose and avoid potential distractions.
Outsourcing the HR function, like any outsourcing, creates
distance between the employees of a company and the outside
contractors. This distance may lead to a culture mismatch
between the company and its contractor, delays in processing,
and reliance on another company to manage a critical function
(i.e., loss of control). The best HR managers align their actions
with the organization's strategic goals. HR managers typically
have organizational and financial knowledge that comes from
being a part of the company. Can the outside contractor provide
the necessary alignment with the company's strategic interests?
This outside contractor may or may not be as dedicated to
making process improvements as your own company is, and so,
particularly when in a long-term contract, may not expend
resources to improve the quality of service.
For multinational organizations, there are special challenges.
Best HR practices may not transfer effectively between
countries due to cultural and institutional differences. Can the
outside contractor adapt to local practices and customs while

11. standardizing the best HR practices across country borders?
These, and other, advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing
the HR function should be weighed carefully and discussed
prior to action.
Step 4: Integrate Your Thoughts and Material
You've formulated your key questions; you've done your
research; you've analyzed and refined your information and
thoughts. Now it's time to put it all together and start drafting
your deliverable.
· Assemble a short paper that contains the following:
· your mission statement of no more than one paragraph
· your organization chart
· your rationale, no more than five pages (12 point type, double-
spaced), for your chosen mission statement and organization
structure as displayed in your chart
· Be sure to attribute any sources you use in the creation of any
of the documents you submit.
· Include a reference page in APA format citing any sources you
used in your short paper.
· Use the following file naming
protocol: yourlastname_organization _date
When your mission statement, organization chart, and rationale
statement are complete, continue to the next step, and submit
your work.
Mission Statement
In the contemporary economic environment, businesses must
often take on roles beyond those of mere profit centers. A well-
crafted mission statement assists in defining the role of a
company by succinctly outlining its core purpose and values.
All other organizational documents, such as codes of conduct,
should be created to support the mission statement of the
organization. Once crafted, a mission statement should play a
role in employee training, advertising, and management. It is
the core principle that states who (as a business) we are, and
what (as a business) we do.

12. Step 5: Submit Your Materials
By the end of Week 7, submit the following files to the
Structuring a Business folder.
· narrated PowerPoint with recommended legal form of business
· short paper including mission statement, organization chart,
and rationale