SmallBusinessAdministration AgencyWebsiteReview JenniferBishop INFO680USGOVERNMENTINFORMATION DrexelUniversity ProfessorT.Karel March16,2010
Introduction TheSmallBusinessAdministrationwasestablishedin1953underPresidentEisenhower.Since itsinceptionithasprovidedsmallbusinessownerswiththetoolstobuildtheirbusinesses.its webpresenceisvitaltoremainingintouchwiththepopulationitserves.anevaluationofthat websiteispresentedhere. Background TheSmallBusinessAdministrationwasestablishedJuly30,1953withthepassageofPublicLaw 85 536(PL85 536).ItisenteredintotheUSCodeofFederalRegulations(15USC14).Its mandateistoprovide aid,counsel[and]assistance...tosmallbusinessconcerns. Italso assuresthataportionofgovernmentcontractsareawardedtosmallbusinesses.itprovides resourcesforobtainingsmallbusinessloans,legalcomplianceinformation,andlinkstolocal businessdevelopmentresources.itspublicationsincludeannualeconomicresearchreports, andamyriadofguidelinesandstartupfaqsforsmallbusinessowners(bothprintand electronic). Mission Statement Beyondthedirectiveofcongress,theSBAfurtherexpoundsonitsmissiononitswebsite: Creativity OurpeopleinspirecreativityintheAmericaneconomybydevelopingandsupporting entrepreneursthroughavastnetworkofresourcepartners. Advocate Weadvocateforallsmallbusinessesbytakingleadershipinbuildingaproductivepartnership betweentheamericanpeopleanditsgovernment. Results Ourteamfocusesondeliveringresultsforsmallbusiness,beingaccountable,accessibleand
responsive. Empower Weempowerthespiritofentrepreneurshipwithineverycommunitytopromoteandrealize theamericandream. Success WefacilitatetheenvironmentnecessaryforAmerica ssmallbusinessestosucceed,measuring ourperformancebysmallbusinesssuccess. Structure of Site Thedesignofmostofthesiteiswelldone,theindividualpagesbeingstructuredappropriately fortheinformationpresented.forexample,thepressreleasesaresimplylistedinorderwith themostcurrentatthetop,whiletheinformationheavypagesareorganizedwithlessthan10 maintopicsperpage(mosthave5orless)makingiteasiertoprogressthroughthesite.the siteisfullyadacompliant,andisgenerallyvisuallyappealing.structurally,theorganizationis consistent,withlogicalhierarchiesandheadings. Evaluation Accuracy TheSBAsiteappearshighlyaccurateinitsinformation.Theypublishtheirinformationquality guidelines(seebibliography),andencourageanyonefindingmistakestoreportthem.to ascertaintheaccuracyoftheinformationpresented,itisnecessarytocheckthedataagainst otherknowndata.however,giventhatthesourceofthedataisofficialgovernmentreports andpressreleases,outsidefactcheckingpresentsachallenge.theauthorityoftheus Governmentwillthereforeremainasagiven,andthereforetheaccuracyofthegovernment
issuedinformationasreliable.incaseswheresummariesoflawsorregulationswere presentednodeviationorquestionableinterpretationwasnoted. AlsotobecommendedwastheSBA spolicyonexternallinks.ratherthantheusual wetake noresponsibilityforsitesotherthanourown, theyhavepublishedtheirownpolicyfor externallinks,followingstrategiessimilartomyownforevaluation.(ihaveincludedalinkin thebibliographyforthosestandards.) Authority Asa.govsite,theSBAsitehasinstantassumedauthority.However,theagencyhastwoother attributesthatgiveitcredibilityasanauthoritativesource.firstof,ithasinplaceapeerreview system,withthecommentsofthereviewersavailabletothepublic.forexample,asba sponsoredpaperonthe EvaluationofBarrierRemovalCostsAssociatedWith2004Americans WithDisabilitiesAct(ADA)AccessibilityGuidelines wasreviewedbyaneconomicsprofessorat GeorgeMasonUniversity.Secondly,theseniorstaffislistedwithaccompanyingbiographies, makingiteasytoseetheyarewellqualifiedasauthoritiesonsbamatters.onstaffaremany successfulentrepreneursexperiencedandgovernmentadministrators. However,noinformationisprovidedastowhomaintainsthewebsite.LocalSBAresourcesdid listmorestaffmembersalongwiththeirtitles,butagain,nowebmasterwaslisted.individual articlesonthewebsitealsodidnotincludeauthor,withtheexceptionofsomearticles
regardingthesbaitself.(oneexampleofthiswouldbethestrategicplanforthesba, presentedbythesbachiefadministratorstevenpreston). Objectivity Asawhole,theSBAsiteremainsfairlyobjectiveinitspresentationofinformation.Tomaintain transparencyinitsinformationgathering,thesbahasarankingsystemforinformationit disseminatesonitswebsite.leveliinformationisinformationconsideredtobe influential andleveliiisitsbasicqualitystandard.thesbadefinesinfluentialas suchinformationwill haveordoeshaveaclearandsubstantialimpactonimportantpublicpoliciesorimportant privatesectordecisions. InformationprovidedbytheSBAdoesrevealabiastowardgovernmentcompliance,however. Asalaw abidingcitizen,ifoundthatbiastobeacceptable,anddidnotfeelitdevaluedthe qualityoftheinformation. Personalopinionisnotreadilyapparentinanyoftheinformationpresented.Theclosestit comestopersonalopinionisinitsslogansforthedifferentsectionsinthe SmallerBusiness Planner forexample, Oneofthebestwaystoinsulateyourselfagainstbusinessfailureisto findandworkwithamentor,someonewithbusinessexperiencewhocanguideandassist you, followedbyalistofsitestofindprofessionalguidance.
Currency Thewebsiteistimelyinitsdeliveryofinformationpertinenttosmallbusinessowners.Thisis evidencedbythecurrencyofnewsitemsandpressreleases,andalsobyitslinkstoup to date externalsources,suchas FederalBusinessOpportunities, whereausermaybrowsedaily contractlistings.however,thesbasiteitselfislackingthecommon lastupdated declaration. Despitethisfact,thewebsitecontentwastimely,reflectingcurrenteventsandtrends. Coverage Thewebsiteencompassesavastamountofinformationofinteresttosmallbusinessowners.A fewofthemanytopicscoveredare:writingabusinessplan,businessstrategiesforteens,grant andcontractapplicationmaterial,onlinetraininginfinanceandaccounting,complianceissues, smallbusinessdisasterassistance,federalformsandreports,andstatisticalcompilations.in termsofvolume,thesbasiteissubstantial.asaprevioussmallbusinessownermyself,iwas amazedattheamountofresourcesavailableiwasunawareof. Other Considerations Initsquesttobetherecommendedsourceofinformationforsmallbusinesses,theSBA provideslinkstomanyexternalwebsites.(inthiscaseirefertositesoutsidethemainsbasite.) TheSBArunssomeofprovidedlinks,someareothergovernmentsources,andsomeare externalsites.iwouldliketobrieflydiscussafewofthosewithinthesba sjurisdiction.
IcomparedthreeoftheexternalsitestotheSBAmainsite Business.gov,theOfficeof Advocacy,theSBA sinspectorgeneral ssite.business.govisthesbawebsitecovering regulationcomplianceforbusinesses,andtheinspectorgeneralwebsiteisthesba sown oversightmechanism.theofficeofadvocacyisthesourceforbusinessstatistics.those websitesvaryindesignfromthesba smainsite.theofficeofadvocacy ssiteisparticularly overwhelminginitspresentation verylittleotherthanlinesoflinkedtext,closelypacked together.business.govontheotherhandisverypleasingvisually,andsimpletonavigate.the InspectorGeneral ssitewasdifficulttoevenfindonthemainpage eventhoughiwasactively lookingfortheoversightmechanism,ionlyfounditbyselecting reportabuseandfraud then backtrackingintheurltotheigpage.(laterifoundthelinkatthebottomofpage,whichonly addstomyconcernoverthevisualdesignofthepage.)consistencybetweenthesesiteswould notonlymakeiteasiertonavigate,butmostlikelymakeada accessibilityeasieraswell. Conclusion IfoundtheSBAsitetocontainawealthofcredibleandtimelyinformation.Thetoolsanddata wereorganizedinaneasytouse,logicalmanner.itfunctionsasanindispensibletoolforsmall businessowners,andasanauthoritativesourceforresearchersaswell.
Bibliography TheSmallBusinessAct http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/serv_small_bus_act.pdf TheSmallBusinessAdministration www.sba.gov SBAInformationQualityStandards http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/sba_hp_infoquality.pdf OfficeofAdvocacy http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/ OfficeoftheInspectorGeneral http://www.sba.gov/ig/index.html