In my first post i discussed the overall problems in small software companies with less fundings, In this new post i will explain in detail about various management issues small companies facing in Pakistan.
Management Issue is Small Companies
Insufficient Man Power
Man power is always insufficient in small software companies, off course these companies cannot pay to more people. This results in increased work pressures on individuals, leads to employee dissatisfaction.
Deficiency of Area Specific Experts
Management always try to hire employees with diverse skills so that they can work on different areas if required, this automatically filters out the area specific experts which are the worth of any organization.
Lack of Employee Benefit Schemes
Low pay scales and lack of employee benefit schemes like EOBI’s, bonuses results in short term employer-employee relations. Employees are indirectly forced to switch the company which causes other problems.
Human Resource Department
Human resource management department is probably the least focused area in small software companies, no procedures are followed for hiring the employees, maintaining the employees; directly affecting the efficient management of company.
Inappropriate Marketing
Most of the staff is technical (developers), hardly knowing anything about how to sell the products or how to capture the customers and market.
Long Term Client Retention Issues
Normally there is no permanent client for small software houses ensuring the permanent source of finances. Such companies work on their own ideas or find the projects through web mostly. Improper portfolio management is also closely related to marketing issues.
Unavailability of Licensed Software
Software’s used for development in small software house are pirated, resulting in unstable products. These products may crash or give unpredictable results.
Lack of Hardware Resources
Hardware is also a big question mark here. The development machines are often not up to the mark. It is also an over head if any specialized equipments is required for project.
Lesser Capability to Absorb the Failure Scenarios
Project failure is a common issue in software industry. Most small software companies are working on few projects and failure of even one project often results in the failure or dissolution of company itself. No risk management and planning to tackle these situations are found.
In my next post, I will be discussing project specific issues.
