Business organizations thrive in the challenging markets using different business strategies. The environment in which a business operates often contributes to the strategies that a business organization adopts. This analysis is a case of the Axel Springer, a longtime German multimedia corporation that used various strategies and operational techniques to survive moments of high dilemmas entailing corporate responsibility. Using the case of the Axel Springer, this essay analyses the issues of corporate directional strategy, generic business strategy, and elements of functional strategy, while also providing recommendations on its business environment. The paper will use two business models: the Abella business framework and the VRIO model.
Description of the Business Nature of the Axel Springer
Abella’s business framework for corporate development and corporate management identifies a business through its corporate directional strategy, its generic business strategy, and its functional strategy. A directional strategy is a form of an investment strategy where a company designs strategies for net short or net long market position plans. Based on the historical development and continued progress of the Axel Company, the directional business strategy for Axel seems to be the market neutral strategies that involve balancing present business situations with certain business changes, since it balanced paper-based media with digital media.
The Porter’s generic strategies contain four major dimensions that a business organization can incorporate to ensure a continued survival in a challenging environment. In terms of its generic business strategy, Axel utilized the differentiation strategic plan that involved creating various digital media communication systems that boosted easy access to news and easy access to knowledge sharing digital utilities. Functional strategy involves selecting specific decision rules that suit specific functional area of an operating business. For the Axel Company, the dominant functional strategies of the firm depended on financial stability, proper marketing of its digital migration plans, and proper scheming of the management.
SWOT and the Competitive Strategy
To understand the success of the Axel Springer, it is important to consider an assessment of its business environment using the SWOT business model, which entails an analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of the firm. The Strengths- the notable strengths that contributed to the survival of the Springer Company in Europe include its longtime market reputation, its effective marketing techniques of the paper and digital media, and its powerful management system that effected innovative business strategies. A positive reputation made enhanced trust among its consumers, who willingly shifted from the paper-based media to the digital media due to the established trust and reputation.
In terms of Weaknesses, the company internally lacked frameworks that could support the effective reduction, reusing, and recycling of the hotly contested paper material. Additionally, the company lacked policies that would control the spread of digital content within the company, even as the issue of digital content theft prevailed. Such internal weaknesses made the organization susceptible to external pressures that targeted them primarily on issues of corporate responsibility. In terms of the prevailing opportunities, the digital media platform offered varied opportunities where corporate irresponsibility deems uneasy to expose. Moreover, the German consumers and other European consumers remained enthusiastic about their digital migration.
For the threats that presented themselves in the market, Axel Springer was surviving in a hotly debated business paradigm. Concerning the prevailing threats, Axel Springer Company could not influence the operations of the mobile phone producers, could not afford an alternative material suitable for the paper media, and could not influence the anti deforestation campaigns that directly affected their market survival. Additionally, since social responsibility of the digital content primarily rested upon the authors, the threat that Axel Company still had to counter was the growing concern about the unethical content spread over their platforms.
Competitive Analysis, Strategic Groups, & the Perceptual Map
Apart from the quandaries associated with digital media, Axel Springer was facing some imminent competition from other digital publishing firms. Among the leading competitors in the digital media and communication realm, include the Hurbert Burda Media Company, the Bauer Media Group, the Bertelsmann Newspaper Publication Company, and the Holtzbrinck Newspaper Company. These major competitors are constantly providing business challenges to the Axel Company in terms of the modern newspaper business and in the development and distribution of the digital content. The diagram below is a perceptional framework concerning the above competitive analysis.
Competitive Analysis.
Conclusion
Keeping track of the rising changes and setting up the required strategies to adopt changes in a business environment is what enabled the Axel Springer to maintain its competitive advantage for several years. Despite the growing challenges of ensuring that the company observes the fundamentals of corporate responsibility, the company has marveled through ensuring that each arising issue receives an effective plan. To recommend, Axel Springer ought to air the issues of Congo environmental and ethics problems in a bid to safeguard nature and ensure that other partners in the mobile technology, who contribute to their success, uphold corporate responsibility.
Singhania and Partners’ business strategy falls under the international business strategy. Briscoe, Schuler, and Tarique (2012) explain that the international business strategy involves importing and exporting. A firm may open an overseas office that is used as a sales office. Singhania and Partners office in New York may be considered a sales office (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2011). The firm’s business strategy would have the characteristics of a multi-domestic business if it had operated in several countries and focusing on the high needs and demands of different countries independently (Briscoe, Schuler, and Tarique, 2012).
The firm’s business strategy involves focusing on its core business. Its core business is corporate law. As a result of focusing on corporate law, the firm has strengthened its position in handling cross-border business deals (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2011). Later, the firm included a litigation section because of its growth potential. The firm offers exceptionally high quality services as a way of marketing their products.
Five Ihrm Practices
Recruitment and selection
The firm recruits from the domestic market because Indian law prevents foreigners from practicing law in India (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2011). An international business strategy requires a diverse workforce, which has been limited by the Indian law. The managers consider the contribution that an employee makes to the firm.
Cross-cultural adaptation
Singhania gained experience in international legal firms’ organization that enables him to organize the firm to international standards (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2011). The firm shares knowledge with other firms in different Indian states. The firm has adopted the latest technology and infrastructure to manage its business. They enable it to provide high quality services.
Briscoe, Schuler, and Tarique (2012) identify human resource information systems as one of the tools for managing the workforce to international standards. The firm has taken measures to create a work-life balance environment. Projects are assigned to more lawyers. It allows them to find time for their social lives. Increased concern over employees’ social lives is one of the factors in IHRM (Briscoe, Schuler, and Tarique, 2012).
Management development
The firm creates leadership positions from its workforce. Mohotra and Singhania are managers, and founders (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2011). In the litigation section, Arvind has been made partner. He is one of the pioneers in the firm. The partners head different sections of the firm.
Evaluation
The firm carries out evaluation based on the work that an employee has completed. They are carried out when the need to do so arises. The firm also conducts annual performance appraisal. There is the case of a new employee whose salary was increased by fifty percent based on the work he had done, even before he received his first payment (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2011).
Compensation
The merit-based compensation plan utilized by the firm makes its employees feel satisfied with their job. The amount of work that the firm assigns to employees, relative to salaries, makes the firm to have among the highest compensation rates in the industry. In the case of Seth, who left for a company with a higher pay, he might have realized that some firms reduce the number of lawyers and increase their salaries (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2011). As a result, the few retained lawyers are overworked. It makes Singhania and Partners to have a better working environment than companies that may seem to have a higher pay.
Practice to be improved
The practice that can be improved is training for cross-cultural adaptation. The information available indicates that the firm relies on Singhania’s cross-cultural experience (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2011). The firm can select a few lawyers to study abroad. Another option that the firm may use is to hire a few lawyers that have studied abroad and train them locally. Hiring lawyers who have trained abroad on their own personal resources is less costly than sending lawyers abroad to train using the firm’s resources.
Recommendations
The firm should identify abilities early through its recruitment programs. One of the options is to recruit from particular universities. It can also recruit more associates, and select a few that matches its competitive strategy.
It can use the promotions rate and promotion wait time to improve career development opportunities in the firm.
The firm can use compensation selectively to retain critical talent. The firm can reward critical talent with compensation rates that are higher than major competitors and pay common employees average wage rates.
Impact on organization
Early identification of abilities creates an advantage over the need to use higher compensation rates to attract highly skilled lawyers from other firms. Shanine, Buchko, and Wheeler (2011) explain that IHRM practices can be easily imitated. As a result, they cannot be considered a competitive advantage. However, creating a workforce that fits the firm’s expansion strategy can create a competitive advantage.
Singhania and Partners will use less effort to attract talented lawyers when they are identified early. A higher promotion rate will increase employee retention. It will be able to create a competitive advantage by accumulating top performers in an industry experiencing shortage of highly skilled lawyers. The firms that are able to retain the top performers are likely to be dominant.
References
Briscoe, D., Schuler, R., & Tarique, I. (2012). International human resource management: Policies and practices. New York, NY: Routledge.
Cullen, J., & Parboteeah, P. (2011). Multinational management: A strategic approach (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Co-opetition is a term that refers to a business strategy whereby competitors in the same business simultaneously engage in competition and cooperation with the aim of gaining more business advantage. The main context behind this form of the business alliance is that businesses are likely to benefit a lot when they work together than when they operate independently. Those who engage in this tactic often believe that the concept will enable them to expand the market and establish new business relationships and interactions. Businesses have always established mutual relationships between competition and cooperation for business advantages. This is an indication that the concept of co-opetition has been in use long before the term was finally formalized. According to Nalebuff and Brandenburger (1996, p. 54), co-opetition was first developed in work carried out within the game theory where it was realized that, through cooperation, competing businesses could bear a ‘win-win’ scenario. Nowadays, the concept has increasingly become a necessity for modern-day businesses owing to its outstanding benefits.
Co-opetition has been viewed by many as a perfect route for new competitors in any business to gain market access. Many business alliances have been witnessed in today’s business scenario, especially in the industry of computers and technology where the strategy is implemented to add value to products and services (Walley 2007, P. 28). For instance, the concept has been witnessed between manufacturers and retailers who are eager to fulfil the consumer interests at a lower cost and in a better style. One good example where the concept has successfully worked out can be seen between Philips and Sony, who have always collaborated to develop supply components and optical media standards despite them been competitors in business. Another example can be seen in the cellular telephone market, where manufacturers of handset and communication service providers work hand-in-hand to offer complete products and services to consumers. Through this strategic concept, a mutual collaboration of sellers and buyers is likely to sprout where more value is established, something that would be difficult to achieve had these companies continued to compete with each other independently (Gummesson 1997, p. 19).
Co-opetition offers many benefits to both firms and consumers. The concept is a new way of doing business whereby sharing of resources is enabled, unlike in the way of competition where duplication of resources is the norm of business. The strategy helps in establishing good relationships between firms and customers, as the firms jointly work together in developing quality products and services to their consumers. Another benefit of the strategy is that it helps firms to gain a competitive business advantage over strong competitors. According to Ganguli (2007, p. 8), firms that have formed business alliances would be better placed to outdo strong competitors in the same line who operate solely. More importantly, the concept of co-opetition promotes organizational enlightenment, thus contributing enormously to improved productivity and performance. Firms who participate in this concept have a great opportunity to learn from their partners and acquire valuable business skills as they protect their independent position in the market (Cruz 2006, p. 883). This collaboration paves the way to fast access to the knowledge, thus enhancing credibility and competitiveness in business. With these observations, it can be concluded that the role of co-opetition in today’s world of business can never be underestimated. A concept is a crucial approach for those firms that want to make a difference in the competitive world of business.
Reference List
Brandenburger, A & Nalebuff B 1995, ‘The right game: use gametheory to shape strategy’. Harvard Business Review, July-August, p. 57-71.
Cruz, L 2006, ‘Towards sustainable development strategies’. Management, vol. 44 no. 7, pp. 871-891.
Ganguli, S 2007, ‘Coopetition models in the context of modern business’. ICFAI Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 6 no. 4, pp. 6-16.
Gummesson, E 1997, ‘Collaborate or Compete’, Marketing Management, vol. 6 no. 3, pp. 17-20.
Walley, Keith 2007, ‘Coopetion’. International Studies of Management and Organization, vol. 37 no. 2, pp. 11-31.
Various scholars have produced diverse views on what constitutes a strategy. From the business perspective and integrating the views of various scholars, a strategy can be defined as the determination of long-term objectives and purposes of a given venture. The strategy also involves taking up the courses of action as well as the allocation of resources that would be required to attain the objectives and goals (Grant, 2010).
The key elements in the definition are the long-term goals and objectives as well as the allocation of resources. The elements distinguish the business strategy from the approaches normally applied by the enterprises to attain a particular goal. In fact, the strategy is the overall long-term plan through which resources are allocated to establish a better firm’s position (Grant, 2010).
Strategy as a plan of action
The strategy is the plan of action, the business perspective, the firm’s strategic positioning as well as pattern and direction the firm would like to follow in order to attain the desired objectives (Mintzberg, 2009). The definition is a combination of diverse views and perspectives of a strategy. In essence, a strategy connects highly ranked objectives or the guiding principles with concrete actions (Kane & Lonsdale, 2012). The strategy fills the gap that normally exists between the cause and the results.
As such, short-term strategy can be described as the multifaceted network of considerations, views, approaches, understandings, aspirations, capabilities, reminiscences, discernments and prospects that make available the wide-ranging direction for precise procedures in pursuit of an exact goal (Morrill, 2010). In fact, the strategy is the general framework that offers direction on the kind of actions the business should take and is normally shaped by the very act. In other words, the precondition for formulating a strategy is the acknowledgement of the objective and goals to be attained (Mintzberg, 2009).
In the circumstances that the business lack objectives, there is a likelihood of missed opportunities, disjointed efforts as well as pursuing diverse purposes. Therefore, the strategy is closely linked to the aims, vision and mission of the firm (Smith & Grimm, 2005). In fact, all the decisions involved in the strategy relate to all activities as well as the operations of the firm. The strategy is an efficient and logical way of undertaking the decisions.
Strategy as a source of competitive advantage
The major aim of a business strategy is to achieve a competitive advantage (Kippenberger, 2006). As such, the elements of a successful business strategy include long-term, simple and agreeable objectives, the increased knowledge of the competitive environment and the appraisal of the resources (Grant, 2010). According to Porter, a successful business strategy depends on the ability of the firm to coalesce distinctive values and activities that provide increased competitive advantage (Kippenberger, 2006).
The increased client base is one of the measures for the success of the strategy applied by the firm. Porter argues that the most important consideration in the strategy formulation is the value offering, which is the combination of the unique factors that add value to the clients (Kippenberger, 2006). The strategic position of the firm involves activities that differentiate the firm from its competitors.
The business, corporate and competitive strategies are all related and interlink through the planned actions and the major objective of increasing the firms’ competitive advantage (Mintzberg, 2009). Generally, the business strategy is a major component that determines the success of the firm. Porter devised generic strategies that determine the firms’ competitive advantage. Porter argues that firms have to take into consideration of the strategies in order to succeed in the market (Kippenberger, 2006). According to Porter, increasing customer value is the most important goal that all strategic positions of the firm should aim to attain (Kippenberger, 2006).
References
Grant, RM 2010, Contemporary strategy analysis: text only, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ.
Smith, RH & Grimm, CM 2005, Strategy as action: competitive dynamics and competitive advantage: competitive dynamics and competitive advantage, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Development and implementation of efficient management strategies are the challenging issues for multinational corporations (Inamete 2014). The effective corporate strategy takes into consideration the multiple evaluations of the internal and external environments: the situation in the market, costs and budgets, as well as the organizational strengths, weaknesses, and knowledge. It is considered that the value-based strategies may successfully help in addressing such issues as allocation of resources, creation of synergy between departments and various business operations, increase in efficiency of managerial decision-making, and development of the organisational portfolio (Goold & Sommers Luchs 1996).
The strategy implementation is usually determined as a ‘sequence of carefully planned consecutive steps’ (Li, Guohui & Eppler 2010). It is observed that strategies may fail because of the unexpected environmental changes in the market or their inefficient performance.
The success of the strategy largely depends on the internal organisational factors. The formulation of the appropriate strategic objectives, the maintenance of sound interrelations and communication between the organisational units, goal-oriented execution, elaboration of tactics for the strategy implementation, and the level of employees’ commitment influence the strategic efficiency.
The current report provides the investigation of WRSX Group business strategy. WRSX Group is a large international advertisement and marketing agency with the headquarter offices in Paris, New York, London, and Singapore. Nowadays, the international advertisement and marketing industry is exposed to continuous and rapid changes following the technological advancement and the shifts in the customers’ preferences. And the managerial ability to manage changes is regarded as a core competency in many industries (Rawlins 2014).
The evaluation of the organisational strategy will allow the identification of WRSX Group’s competencies, as well as its weaknesses and strengths in the development of abilities aimed to cope with the changes in the external environment. The information obtained through the strategic analysis will assist in the elaboration of an appropriate and effective strategy that will help WRSX Group to develop the competitive advantages such as high level of organisational attractiveness, customer loyalty, and profitability increase.
WRSX Strategic Decision-Making
The overall business performance is always affected by many factors, but it is possible to say that the influence of leadership is crucial in this regard (Dukynaite & Alisauskas 2012). According to WRSX Group report, its Leadership Capability scores are negatively affected by the ineffective managerial operations, the lack of information and knowledge management, and poor administration in some of the international offices.
As a result, WRSX Group’s indicators are below the industry average in many aspects of performance (WRSX 2009). Moreover, some of the organisational leaders (Raphael Roux and Serge Toussaint from the Parisian office) were involved in the corporate scandals the bribery incidents that indicate a low level of efficiency in the organisational governance and managerial regulation (WRSX 2009).
The issues of poor inner organisational regulation may be successfully evaluated from the theoretical perspective of the strategic and ethical leadership. The previous literature findings make it clear that the success of any organisation largely depends on the way it is managed (Harrington & Ottenbacher 2011). Since the leaders’ decision and behaviour may be considered a decisive factor in the efficiency of the organisational business conduct and the employees’ productivity, the selection of right strategic approaches in leadership may have a significant favourable effect on the corporate performance and its outcomes.
The strategic and ethical leadership are meant to address a set of issues of both internal and external character. Through the elaboration of leadership strategies, the executives may achieve success in managing and guiding their subordinates, establishment of partnership relationships, and addressing the needs of organisational stakeholders (Sergiu 2015).
Leadership involves inspiration, motivation, and encouraging for achievements, while effective management is focused merely on the fulfilment of the basic working processes. ‘In an organisational context, most agree that, at the very least, leaders set the tone for their organisation and, therefore, questions about their leadership immediately raise broader questions about the organisation, and potentially the teams that they lead being a reflection of their leadership’ (Carnall & Roebuck 2015). Therefore, it is very important for WRSX Group leaders to comply with the ethical principles to establish high standards of conduct and performance for all members of the working staff.
Through the incorporation of ethical principles into the strategy, WRSX leaders may effectively address the issues of corporate sustainability and value increase. As Strand (2014) claims, ‘corporate sustainability refers to the integration of economic, environmental, and social considerations on the part of corporations’ (688). The managerial strategies and the compliance of the leaders with their organisational responsibilities may have the overall positive effects on the business outcomes. Therefore, organisational leaders need to address these aspects of corporate performance while developing a strategy.
Traditionally, strategic leadership focuses on the group of top management and its executive capabilities (Strand 2014). The strategies may usually be task-oriented or employee-oriented, and through them, the leaders attempt to guide, support, and motivate the subordinates, communicate with them, and give feedback. The motivational aspect is essential to the strategic efficiency as it gives the employees the purpose for the effective fulfilment of their duties and productivity increase (Atta-Panin 2013).
The consideration of the concept of corporate sustainability by leadership allows the realization of the external advantages and disadvantages ‘that may have otherwise gone unrealized without concerted attention and coordination afforded by a strategic level position’ (Strand 2014). In this way, by increasing the corporate social responsibilities leaders attain the opportunity to expand their focus. As a result, the organisation accumulates the competitive advantages that help it to overcome the crises, forecast it, and prevent undesired outcomes.
According to ADCOM Industry Benchmark Survey Results & Impact on Share Price, WRSX’s Leadership Capability indicators and Corporate Social Responsibility indicators are below the Industry average (WRSX 2009). Moreover, since the fourth quarter of 2008, WRSX share price declined from the point of £3.71million to £2.28 million by the ninth quarter (WRSX 2009). It is observed that the value decrease is caused by the bribery incidents in the Parisian office. Therefore, it is possible to assume that the orientation to ethics and corporate sustainability in the leadership strategy is of significant importance for WRSX because the inclusion of ethical principles into the strategic management will help the leaders to increase the organisational value and share price.
While strategic leadership is rather focused on the increase of organisational efficiency through the evaluation of environments, the ethical leadership is more concerned with the issues of moral and respectful business conduct (Mihelic, Lipicnik & Tekavcic 2010). Despite the differences in approaches, both leadership styles provide the opportunities for the organisational improvement, and the incorporation of different strategic approaches to the organisational regulation may allow the leaders to attain the long-term sustainability in business.
Ethical leadership is primarily concerned with decision-making and its consequences. According to the principles of ethics, the top managerial group needs to make the decision based on fairness, responsibility and respect (Mihelic, Lipicnik & Tekavcic 2010).
The leaders are regarded as main contributors to the dissemination and incorporation of ethical values into the organisational culture. Thus, the efficiency of ethical leadership defines the extent towards which the subordinates accept the principles of ethical behaviour at the workplace and comply with them. ‘Ethical leaders’ conduct serves as role-modelling behaviour for followers as their behaviour is accepted as appropriate’ (Mihelic, Lipicnik & Tekavcic 2010). Therefore, communication may be regarded as the main instrument of ethical leadership. The establishment of a sound and positive leader-employee relationships is the only way for the development of ethical behaviour in the subordinates.
Through the consideration of the universal ethical and moral principles, and by addressing the needs and interests of a vast number of stakeholder groups, the leaders represent the organisation as a good corporate citizen and improve its reputation in the external environment (Mihelic, Lipicnik & Tekavcic 2010). In this way, in comparison to the competitors who do not pay respect to ethical conduct, WRSX may gain the advantages of the customer attraction, brand awareness, and, as a result, the profitability increase.
Moreover, compliance with ethics may help WRSX Group to decrease the staff turnover. The previous WRSX’s low Leadership Capabilities indicators demonstrate that the corporate leadership strategy was underdeveloped and, as a result, the organisational culture was affected in a negative way. The company also experienced difficulties in the retention of personnel and the attraction of new employees (WRSX 2009).
It is possible to say that the negative impacts on corporate culture and personnel management are mainly provoked by poorly developed leadership capabilities. The incorporation of the ethical values and standards into the organizational culture will help to increase its attractiveness to the potential employees and improve the motivation of current personnel (Sergiu 2015). The ethical leadership is regarded as a vital element in the fulfilment of the corporate mission and vision; it serves as the motivation for the achievement of the long-term and short-term goals (Mihelic, Lipicnik & Tekavcic 2010). Overall, the ethical leadership indicates the moral health of the organisation which is regarded as the main construct of corporate sustainability and success.
Analysis of Changes in WRSX Strategy
Initially, the strength of WRSX Group’s strategy was in its customer-oriented approach to trade and business conduct. Before the organisational involvement in the corruption scandal, WRSX had an excellent reputation, and the company represented itself as a good corporate citizen. However, the main weaknesses of the strategy included poor leadership management and the lack of corporate integrity.
Two main forms of internalisation and entry to the new countries was acquisition and merger with other organisations in the hosting markets (WRSX 2009). Traditionally, WRSX Group supported the independent operation of different business units and attempted to maintain their autonomy because the top management believed that this kind of business structure increased the managerial effectiveness at the local levels.
WRSX didn’t have the universal corporate policies and regulations that would unify all units located in different countries, and the company tended to manage businesses regionally. However, this policy proved to be inefficient in control of leaders’ decisions. Therefore, the company needs to focus its strategic decisions and goals on the elaboration of the organisational culture and development of policies that will include the universal standards of conduct, clear-cut ethical values, and principles of business operation that will help WRSX to handle the difficult situation with leadership and improve organisational performance in multiple areas.
The evaluation of the original strategic position makes it clear that the integration of corporate units through the compliance with common organisational regulations is vital. The enhancement of the leadership capabilities is of significant importance as well. Since it is observed that only a few of WRSX Group offices demonstrate poor performance in leadership indicators, the development of the solid corporate culture that will be accepted in all regions of business operation will help to provide the conformity in the performance of the executive offices and raise the standards of business conduct at the local levels.
Strategy into Practice
In the lecture ‘Strategy. Or a series of unfortunate events,’ Richard Lee discussed the aspects of strategic planning, the significance of managerial insight and intuition in the evaluation of external and internal environments, and the constructs of effective execution of the developed strategy. Richard Lee has a large experience in IT management and development, and his lecture supported by the extensive competence provided motivation and helped to attain a deeper understanding of the subject.
First of all, the lecturer emphasized the importance of a strategic vision of the desired achievements and goals in business. The strategic vision may be externally and internally oriented, and it requires the clear formulation of long-term and short-term objectives, development of corporate values and mission statements that would serve as motivators for the organisational employees, efficient knowledge management, and free dissemination of information within the company’s boundaries. Since the working team plays a significant role in the execution of strategic processes, the team-building is important as well. The cohesion within the work team can be efficiently provided through the elements of corporate culture and effective communication patterns between leaders and subordinates.
The execution of strategy in the continuously changing conditions may be challenging. To increase the possibility of success, the strategy must be exposed to the systematic evaluations and analysis. The assessment of strategic efficiency in the achievement of short-term goals may help to avoid and forecast the difficulties, and make the timely corrections in the strategic directions.
Reference List
Atta-Panin, J 2013, ‘Leadership and Strategic Management’, GSTF Business Review (GBR), vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 14-21.
Carnall, C & Roebuck, C 2015, Strategic leadership development: Building world-class performance, Palgrave, New York.
Dukynaite, R & Alisauskas, R 2012, ‘Strategic management as leadership tool’, Viesoji Politika ir Administravimas, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 75-88.
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Harrington, R & Ottenbacher, M 2011, ‘Strategic management’, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 439-462.
Inamete, U 2014. ‘Strategic management and multinational corporations: a case study of Bacardi Limited’, Global Business Review, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 397–417.
Li, Y, Guohui, S & Eppler, M 2010, ‘Making strategy work: a literature review on the factors influencing strategy implementation.” In P Mazzola & F Kellermanns (eds), Handbook of research on strategy process, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, pp. 165-183.
Mihelic, K, Lipicnik, B & Tekavcic, M 2010, ‘Ethical leadership’, International Journal of Management and Information Systems, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 31-41.
Rawlins, J 2014, ‘Mythologizing change: examining rhetorical myth as a strategic change management discourse’, Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, vol. 77, no. 4, pp. 453–472.
Sergiu, G 2015, ‘Developing the Organizational Culture’, Revista de Management Comparat International, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 137-143.
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Both workers and employers started experiencing remarkable changes in the workplace in the 1990s when many firms were downsized and adopted more number of part-time and temporary personnel. In addition, many females in the labour force have resulted in an increase in conflicts between work and life matters. A business strategy is an approach that is adopted by companies to achieve their business objectives.
Many firms use business strategies that address a wide range of activities that would be accomplished within a certain period. Many scholars recognise the need to utilise unique approaches to solve business issues. In a business world that is exemplified by high levels of competition, it would be prudent for management teams to focus on understanding various work and life issues that could impact their staff. In fact, there is a need to establish a work-life balance (WLB) by adopting excellent work-life programmes.
Many researchers have focused on understanding and proposing various work-life strategies that could be essential in attaining WLB. It is important to underscore that WLB is critical in attaining competitive advantage and increased market shares. This paper aims at evaluating research-based positive impacts that work-life programmes could have on business strategy.
Introduction
WLB is the “extent to which an individual is engaged in an equally satisfied with his or her work roles and family roles” (Chimote & Srivastava, 2013, p. 70). The two types of roles should have the following: involvement balance, time balance and satisfaction balance. It is believed that WLB is an individual notion that is based on compatibility of work and non-work activities. Modern human resource departments in various organisations focused on WLB employment practices, which provide excellent platforms on which personnel balance their work activities with responsibilities that they could have outside work (Chalawadi, 2014; Konrad & Mangel, 2000).
It is essential to note that WLB could be achieved if work and non-work interests are reconciled. This paper focuses on discussing the role of work-life programmes with regard to promoting business strategy in the workplace.
Discussion
The work-family conflict could be termed as an inter-role conflict that makes it difficult for an individual to participate in both work and non-work (for example, family) activities. Programmes should be aimed at promoting work-family synergy, which refers to the positive energy that exemplifies persons who participate in both work and family roles. Research has established that both synergy and conflict are bidirectional (Greenfield & Terry, 1995).
It has been argued that supervisors could act as vital persons with regard to resolving WLB conflicts. In fact, previous studies have demonstrated a relationship between supervisor support and improved performance outcomes of personnel. The outcomes could be categorised into “work overload, job satisfaction and life satisfaction” (Chimote & Srivastava, 2013, p. 71). Conflicts are found in situations where workers are involved in paid and unpaid work responsibilities. However, it has been proposed that WLB programmes could be important in resolving conflicts by enabling staff to be satisfied both in the workplace and at home.
It is important to recognise that conflict that is caused by paid and unpaid work responsibilities is associated with “lack of engagement, absenteeism, turnover rates, low productivity, and poor retention levels, which may compromise the availability and use of work-life programmes” (Chimote & Srivastava, 2013, p. 71). It has been shown that workers who achieve WLB have relatively low rates of absenteeism and relatively high levels of productivity.
A study was conducted in Gurgaon with the aim of establishing the positive impacts of WLB on organisations and employees. Using a sample size of 100 respondents working in call centres, the study authors analysed data using multiple regression analysis and t-test. It was found that WLB could be effective in reducing absenteeism. Personnel believed that work-life initiatives could be critical in job satisfaction, stress reduction and autonomy (Chimote & Srivastava, 2013).
With regard to the organisational perspective, it was established that WLB was associated with reducing rates of absenteeism and turnover, promoting performance outcomes, and increasing levels of loyalty. However, the study did not find a correlation between organisational perspective and employees’ perspective (Chimote & Srivastava, 2013). Another study focused on deciphering the extent to which WLB is fulfilled from the organisational perspective. The study underscored that many scholars examine “policy development and execution with regard to creating family-friendly job environments from personal perspectives rather than from a group of workers working under the same supervisor” (Mazerolle & Goodman, 2013, p. 670).
The study utilised eight athletic trainers who were important in giving responses in alignment with three themes. First, supportive work environments were shown to foster and encourage WLB through the attainment of personally and professionally shared ambitions. Second, non-work outlets were demonstrated to be important in providing time away from the workplace. They included exercise and hobbies. Finally, individualistic approaches showed that although persons could aim at achieving common goals, they should also focus on attaining individual objectives. Thus, it would be prudent to contend that work-life programmes that would be aimed at promoting a business strategy should focus on encouraging workers to achieve both personal and professional objectives (Mazerolle & Goodman, 2013).
One of the factors that characterise the modern workplace is a relatively large number of personnel. The personnel have precise needs and resources, which are critical in establishing a balance between work and life roles (Balkan, 2014). Many scholars have focused on describing WLB using personal and career dimensions of staff in organisations across the world. Work-life programmes have come to the fore with regard to correlations between improved conditions in the workplace and increased flexibility of paid work. Many studies assert that job stress could have negative impacts on the wellbeing and performance outcomes of workers across the globe (Balkan, 2014).
Thus, work-life programmes focus on preventing the negative impacts of job stress. An example of such programmes is the stress management programme, which argues that problems that are related to stress are inbuilt. Thus, initiatives are applied based on particular workers with the aim of enabling them to improve performance outcomes. While stress management initiatives are aimed at helping personnel in stressful conditions, they are not focused on eradicating the source of the stress (Balkan, 2014). Issues have been raised with regard to firms that aim at eliminating stress without analysing the needs of the individual.
The results of such programmes could only be short-term. Policymakers are worried that many firms are avoiding adopting excellent WLB programmes due to high costs. However, scholars propose that business establishments should focus on adopting tested work-life approaches that would be important in achieving long-term positive impacts. The proposal is in the context of more competitive markets that require strategic business actions (Balkan, 2014).
Many workers aim at attaining WLB, but they rarely achieve it because they work for relatively long hours and hardly find an association between home and work. If workers have many non-work issues that affect them, then they would have relatively low levels of productivity in the workplace. Currently, the work-life conflict could be viewed from two perspectives. First, it could be noted that work aspects could interfere with family issues. Second, it is notable that family matters could have negative impacts on work outcomes. Thus, it is prudent for work-life programmes to address both work interference and family interference.
A study was conducted to investigate the impacts of WLB on job stress and individual performance outcomes. It used a sample size of 1000 students, but only 300 students were accessed for the survey, and 232 students were used for statistical analyses (Balkan, 2014). The study authors concluded that job stress issues could significantly impact performance outcomes. In addition, job outcomes were impacted by WLB factors.
Due to the strong association that was established, it would be critical to underscore that stress would be characterised by three stages (Balkan, 2014). The first stage is exemplified by an individual who perceives stress, and he or she releases hormones to mediate processes that show signs of being stressed. The second stage is involved with resistance to stress, which is brought about by adaptation. At this stage, stress signs disappear.
The third stage is exemplified by exhaustion, which implies that the body can no longer defend stressful conditions. Thus, diseases can easily result from stress. It is evident that workers could have their health outcomes negatively impacted by work-life stress factors. Therefore, it could be prudent for management teams of business establishments to focus on addressing WLB issues by adopting effective work-life programmes (Balkan, 2014).
Studies have also dealt with WLB and health commitment of organisations. For example, a study published in 2014 found that a strong correlation exists among the following: WLB, job satisfaction among personnel and commitment (Azeem & Akhtar, 2014). In fact, 37% variance was attributed to a commitment by firms and job satisfaction, which were critical in the achievement of WLB (Azeem & Akhtar, 2014). Thus, it can be asserted that organisations that are committed to achieving exemplary results are exemplified by personnel who have relatively high levels of job satisfaction and WLB.
Scholars have also focused their studies on understanding various aspects that could be important for maintaining WLB. It is notable that multiplication of duties in the workplace could be a key factor for lowering efficiencies of workers of firms across the globe (Stankiewicz, Bortnowska & Łychmus, 2014). This could be explained by the increased expectations among personnel. Another negative impact of multiplication of duties is that personnel spend relatively more time in their professional engagements than they spend in their private responsibilities.
In addition, excessive working time could negatively impact cognitive functions of an individual and lead to other health conditions such as insomnia and chronic stress. The consequences signify the need to focus on the actions that could be critical in fostering WLB of employees (Stankiewicz et al., 2014).
It is evident that modern workers encounter more social, economic and technological challenges (Greenfield & Terry, 1995). Thus, many scholars have pronounced the realities of the workplace that have brought more stress and complicated the lives of millions of workers across the world (Khan & Agha, 2013). Business establishments should aim at adopting excellent work-life programmes that would help to achieve WLB.
Within an organisational level, such programmes would be applied to support credible and corporate business activities, which would result in a gain of competitive advantage and increased market shares. However, it should be noted that work-life initiatives are focused on providing employers and personnel with long-term mutual benefits. WLB initiatives have been shown to be effective ways that could be used by HR departments with a view to recruiting, retaining and motivating their valued workers (Khan & Agha, 2013). Furthermore, work-life programmes could be important tools for changing organisational cultures and helping to change how various personnel view their careers and work (Chalofsky, 2008).
The proposal to engage HR departments in executing WLB approaches is based on the observation that human resource management (HRM) plays more proactive and strategic roles to manage staff in the workplace. In fact, HRM plays roles that are viewed in the context of the larger society where different business establishments belong. Thus, several changes characterise modern HR practices (Khan & Agha, 2013). For example, commitment is now preferred to compliance, and modern HR professionals ensure that they staff their firms with highly skilled employees. In addition, training of all staff is a critical feature of proactive HR practices. Thus, HRM could be important in achieving flexible working, which could be utilised to describe WLB.
Many study authors argue that there is a positive relationship between policies that promote WLB and performance outcomes of individual workers. However, some researchers assert that “wide gaps exist with regard to the policies and the reality in most workplaces” (Wei, Yili, Tian, 2013, p. 105). Thus, it has been argued that supportive work-life culture that is adopted by an organisation could have important implications for the execution of work-life programmes (Chalofsky, 2008).
Four cultural aspects have been cited as the most important factors (Wei et al., 2013). First, managerial support ensures that all employees are motivated to achieve personal and professional goals. Second, gender-based perceptions are crucial in helping management teams to understand and address gender issues that could negatively impact performance outcomes. Third, career consequences could be essential factors to motivate or discourage workers from working hard in the workplace. For example, if an organisation promotes workers who have excellent performance results, then workers would be encouraged to work in order to be promoted.
On the other hand, unmotivated personnel could exemplify firms that do not reward industrious workers with job promotions. Fourth, co-workers’ support is important in enabling personnel to achieve both personal and professional goals and solve various work and non-work issues. Research shows that HRM can only be effective if the top management and middle-level management show commitment to supporting proactive HR practices (Greenfield & Terry, 1995). In fact, the following have been proposed to be effective ways that management teams could adopt to encourage workers to achieve WLB (Wei et al., 2013):
Encouraging women’s positions.
I am considering fairness among workers.
Adopting new methods to evaluate performance outcomes.
Leeds City Council proposed the following nine policies that could be used to establish a flexible working environment, which could result in improved performance outcomes (“Leeds lists the benefits of better work-life balance”, 2004):
Annualised hours.
Job share.
Self-rostering.
Employment break.
Compressed hours.
Homeworking.
Differences in hours.
Flexible working time.
Term-time only working.
The policies were proposed with a view to realising more benefits from flexible working options. In fact, the policies would go a long way in promoting WLB because, despite the growing alternatives of flexible working, it is notable that much work across the world is correlated with “long working hours, high-stress levels among workers and low levels of job attachment” (“Leeds lists the benefits of better work-life balance”, 2004, p. 21).
While the policies would be important in implementing work-life programmes, it would be important for managers to adopt approaches that would be compatible with formal work-life policies. “Low levels of stress, absence through employer flexibility, improved recruitment and retention” have been cited as the key elements of WLB (“Leeds lists the benefits of better work-life balance”, 2004, p. 22).
It is argued that work-life initiatives have not been successfully implemented because many persons believe that they are approaches that should be used by female parents in the workplace. In fact, the perception has negatively impacted its potential achievement with regard to promoting strategic business benefits (Chalawadi, 2014).
Millions of workers are increasingly adopting telecommuting across the world. The concept implies that employees can carry out their tasks at home instead of going to the workplace (Osoian, Lazar & Ratiu, 2014). The approach has several advantages. For example, it reduces costs related to travelling to the workplace, it enables workers to organise their work more effectively, it offers personnel the chances of working in less stressful environments, and it helps workers with disabilities to work from their homes (Osoian et al., 2014).
A company’s bottom line could be impacted either positively or negatively by telecommuting because staff can decide whether to work during their peak productive periods. Telecommuting is one of the best programmes that could be adopted by business establishments to improve their business strategies. Compressed workweeks are arrangements that are adopted by the management teams of firms to “enable their personnel to work for relatively long hours so that they would have a reduction in the number of working days in their work cycle” (Osoian et al., 2014, p. 334). The approach provides additional days off work to personnel. The days off would be utilised by workers to solve their family issues.
Thus, family issues would rarely interfere with their professional work aspects. Part-time work could also be used to allow staff with some problems, such as disabilities, to work productively, improve their job skills and gain job experience. From an organisation’s perspective, the adoption of this strategy would be critical in “maximising human resources and increasing the levels of operational flexibilities by providing additional coverage during peak periods” (Osoian et al., 2014, p. 335).
The initiative would be an excellent platform on which WLB would be achieved. Job sharing is a programme that is adopted to allow two or more workers to carry out tasks on a full-time basis. If two or more personnel collectively accomplish tasks, then it would imply that they would have more time for other tasks such as family responsibilities. The net result of the programme would be that there would be fewer chances of work-family conflicts that would negatively impact the performance outcomes of individual workers and organisations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is apparent that the modern business world is characterised by many changes, which have resulted in a number of challenges that negatively impact the productivity levels of workers. Work-family conflicts occur when both work and family issues affect the output of workers. Thus, management teams are supposed to focus on understanding the various factors that could affect performance outcomes of their business establishments.
In fact, in the contemporary competitive world, businesses are required to adopt strategic business approaches that would enable them to gain competitive advantage and more market shares. Business strategies are supposed to be unique and feasible. WLB is focused on achieving flexible working environments, which would positively correlate with increased productivity levels. Work-life programmes are aimed at enabling workers to appreciate that they are required to perform excellently in the workplace and at home. One common feature of all work-life initiatives is that they prioritise matters of employees.
Various studies have identified strategies that would be utilised by firms to attain WLB. Although many people have argued that the approaches could only be applied to solve issues related to female parents, scholars have shown that they could be used to solve work-life issues that are experienced by both female and male workers. The extent to which companies would thrive in the competitive business environments would largely depend on the work-life programmes that they would adopt to address workers’ work-family conflicts.
References
Azeem, S. M., & Akhtar, N. (2014). The Influence of Work Life Balance and Job Satisfaction on Organizational Commitment of Healthcare Employees. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 4(2), 18-24.
Balkan, D. O. (2014). Work-Life Balance, Job Stress and Individual Performance: An Application. International Journal of Management Sciences and Business Research, 3(3), 38-47.
Chalawadi, C. I., (2014). A study on work life balance and women: Issues and challenges. SUM EDHA Journal of Management, 3(2), 80-91.
Chalofsky, N., (2008). Work-life programs and organizational culture: The Essence of Workplace community. Organizational Developmental Journal, 26(1), 11-18.
Chimote, N. K., & Srivastava, V. N. (2013). Work-Life Balance Benefits: From the Perspective of Organizations and Employees. The IUP Journal of Management Research, 12(1), 62-73.
Greenfield, C., & Terry, M., (1995). Work/life: From a set of programs to a set of strategic way of management. Employment Relations Today, 22(2), 67-81.
Khan, S. A., & Agha, K. (2013). Dynamics of the Work Life Balance at the Firm Level: Issues and Challenges. Journal of Management, 14(4), 103-113.
Konrad, A. M., & Mangel, R., (2000). The impact of work-life programs on firm productivity. Strategic Management Journal, 21(2), 1225-1237.
Leeds lists the benefits of better work-life balance: Councils reap the rewards of family- friendly policies (2004). Human Resource Management International Digest, 12(7), 21-23.
Mazerolle, S. M., & Goodman, A. (2013). Fulfillment of Work-Life Balance From the Organizational Perspective: A Case Study. Journal of athletic training, 48(5), 668-677.
Osoian, C., Lazar, L., & Ratiu, P., (2014). The benefits of implementing and supporting work-life balance policies in organizations. International Journal of Management Sciences and Business Research, 30(13), 333-339.
Stankiewicz, J., Bortnowska, H., & Łychmus, P. (2014). Conditions necessary to maintain work-life balance of employees-in the light of the research results. Management, 18(1), 326-340.
Wei, C., Yili, L., Tian, Y., (2013). How Can HRM Help Organizations Build the Supportive “Work-Life/family” Balance Culture? International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4(9), 104-110.
Various countries differ greatly in terms of their overall competitiveness in the global market. This is the result of different factors which are at work in this country. These factors range from social, economical, political, and cultural, and often have a defining effect on the way business is conducted within these countries. As a result, when different countries begin engaging in the global market, cultural differences can create conflict, misunderstanding, and variable levels of competition (Tahir 2014).
For example, the article “An institution-based view of international business strategy: a focus on emerging economies” gives us an example of the Chinese industry. In China, it is legal for the management of competing firms to meet and discuss prices, and divide the markets between each other, despite the fact that the same action would be illegal in the US and most parts of the world (Peng, Wang & Jiang 2008). The difference can also be seen in the approach to intellectual property, as different cultures attribute different value to IP. Again, China is a good example, as it does not have the same concept of IP as the western countries (Budde-Sung 2013)
Analysis
The competitiveness of a country in an industry is in many ways determined by the political-institutional environment it cultivates, and if this environment, along with social, economic, and cultural circumstances, can help the country to develop an effective competitive advantage, which will allow it to find its niche in the global market.
The government has a powerful regulatory ability over the market and cost structure, the ability to limit the company’s growth and activities, as well as impact production and service provision. The judicial system, in particular, is a powerful tool for regulation of corporation’s practices, and, in turn, can be the basis of competitive advantage (Evans & Gabel, 2014). For example, in Brazil, there are several policies directed at aiding the international expansion of its companies, supporting and endorsing strategically valuable industries, and increasing the countries’ competitive advantage overall (Bazuchi et al 2013). The geographical and economic attributes of a country can severely limit or augment the countries competitiveness in the industry.
As mentioned before, culture also plays a significant role in determining the company’s competitive advantage. A Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede defined four attributes of culture, which affect business. These are power distance, which defines the attitudes toward unequal power distribution along the hierarchy, uncertainty avoidance and distaste for risk, capacity for individualism and masculinity, which defines which values are more appreciated in the society (Rugman & Collinson 2012).
Conclusion
Although different countries approach firms and individuals within them differently, to successfully achieve competitiveness in the global market the countries need to use all available advantages to them, which includes giving firms a degree of freedom in order to best develop its strength, and motivate individual input to maximize efficiency, and to strive for high innovation and diversification. These last two concepts are of chief importance to the development of a competitive environment. Additionally, the better members of the company work together, the more competitive is the firm in the global market.
This means that to fit into this environment, multinational corporations need to adopt strategies that invite innovation and employee participation. Additionally, companies need to work with the governments, in order to receive support and protection in the global market and to be able to complete successfully even with the major nations by fully exploiting their competitive advantages.
References
Bazuchi, K, Zacharias, S, Broering, L, Arreola, M, & Bandeira-de-Mello, R 2013, ‘The role of home country political resources for Brazilian multinational companies’, BAR – Brazilian Administration Review, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 415-438, Scopus®, EBSCOhost. Web.
Budde-Sung, A 2013, ‘The Invisible Meets the Intangible: Culture’s Impact on Intellectual Property Protection’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 117, no. 2, p. 345-359.
Evans, J, & Gabel, A 2014, ‘Legal Competitive Advantage and Legal Entrepreneurship: A Preliminary International Framework’, North Carolina Journal Of International Law & Commercial Regulation, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 333-422, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost.
Peng, MW, Wang, DYL, & Jiang, Y 2008, ‘An Institution-Based View of International Business Strategy: A Focus on Emerging Economies’, Journal of International Business Studies, pp. 1–17.
Rugman, A. & Collinson, S 2012, ‘International culture’, in International business, New York: Pearson, pp.132-164.
Tahir, R 2014, ‘The Impact of National and Organizational Cultural Differecnes on Performance’, IBA Business Review, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 47-63, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost.
Lululemon is a company which specializes in yoga-oriented merchandise. Its initial designs displayed orientation at performance and functionality for serious yoga practitioners, a direction that later was expanded to cover other active sports fields such as running. However, over the recent years, the company shifted from specialized goods to form a more inclusive approach. As a result, the current merchandise offered by Lululemon includes casual merchandise such as dresses, bags, hats, and rain jackets. Most of these goods have little to no connection to yoga or other active sports and offer almost no advantage in terms of performance. Instead, the marketing strategy focuses on what can be described as “selling the goals and ideas.” In other words, the emphasis is made on associations with yoga and appeal of its concepts rather than the actual usability and utility of products.
This approach reportedly allowed Lululemon to significantly expand its customer base by including individuals who were reluctant to engage in physical exercise. On the downside, such strategy gained significant criticism from skeptical community and business ethics advocates. Some analysts also theorize that such reputation caters to the audience of “posers” who value their image over effort. Naturally, some portion of athletes are expected to be dissatisfied by the prospect of being associated with such audience and may stop using company’s services. In addition, some of the claims made by marketers were perceived as attempts of deceptive marketing. To minimize adverse effects of the questionable strategy, the company alternated its practices by excluding explicitly unrealistic claims. However, such move may be insufficient for improving the situation. Thus, additional business strategies should be considered.
Identification/Description of Alternatives
Despite the fact that the company is subject to criticism, there is no data that allows us to conclusively identify its benefits and shortcomings. However, two conclusions can be made with certainty. First, the initial shift of emphasis from functionality to concept proved beneficial for the business. Second, at least some of the specific decisions made by the company’s marketing department, such as its claim of seaweed fabric capable of exerting vitamins and minerals into the customer’s skin, can be clearly identified as examples of deceptive marketing. Since the latter is recognized as a violation and is subject to punitive actions, it is to be excluded from the preferred strategies.
Considering these facts, three options are possible to amend the situation. First, the company can abandon the newly chosen direction and roll back to its initial performance-centered strategy. In this way, the majority of reasons which sparked controversy would be eliminated. Specifically, the opportunity for introducing misleading claims, while still present, will narrow down enough to exclude the possibility of unintentional misrepresentation. More importantly, the brand’s image will distance from the poser audience which will retain a more seriously oriented segment. Naturally, while the brand will become less diluted and attain specific and solid characteristics, it will also lose a significant share of its customers.
Therefore, to retain the necessary customer base, marketing needs to be significantly reconsidered. One possible direction the company can choose as a target is the beginner segment – the customers who find active sports and yoga an attractive field but are for some reason hesitant to begin training. Another possible segment is “die-hard fans” – individuals who take sports activities seriously and are therefore the first to be repelled by Lululemon’s current “yoga chick” image. However, we must recognize the fact that the amount of potential customer that can be retained from these two groups combined does not necessarily supersede the audience lost due to the rollback. Besides, active sports have their share of controversy resulting from unrealistic claims, so the possibility of deceptive marketing cannot be discarded entirely.
The second option is to embrace the current strategies and pursue the chosen path. However, certain interventions are required to avoid potential hazards. First, marketing research needs to be conducted to determine potential benefits and drawbacks of the shift. In particular, the implications behind the most common criticisms need to be verified and, in case they are confirmed, appropriate measures should be considered. For instance, the potential loss of customers due to the changes in a brand image may appear negligible when compared to gains achieved by the coverage of previously unavailable population. Naturally, the unrealistic claims and unfair marketing strategies are still to be avoided in this course of actions, but on the overall, the company will still be idea- rather than functionality-oriented. This option is also preferable since it introduces the least alternations to status quo.
A third alternative is adjusting the existing approach to retain the potential customer base and minimize dissatisfaction of the initial target group. This option resembles a compromise between the former two since it incorporates features of both. However, it also introduces the most changes into the existing course of actions. While this may be considered a disadvantage, the third option offers the best opportunities for the company in the long run.
Rationale for Selection of Best Alternative
There are several reasons why the third alternative is preferred. Probably the biggest advantage is the opportunity to retain the new audience. While we do not have information which offers definitive evidence that this segment is lucrative, the intuitive suggestion is that it is sufficiently larger than a more serious but less numerous stratum of actual athletes. Besides, the previous experience of the company indirectly confirms that the new segment is large enough to provide the sufficient portion of sales. Finally, highly specialized businesses need to rely for the most part on the selective and exclusive distribution models, which necessitate higher pricing to profit from fewer sales. On the other hand, covering a wider audience (in our case – less athletic individuals who are drawn to the ideas and messages of yoga and active sports) expand the market enough to allow the business to maintain prices within a competitive range.
This advantage becomes more obvious once we consider the priorities of the company. It is important to remember that running and other active sports are later additions to its initial production of yoga-related products. The latter is a lot less challenging for the audience than more traditional sports, which makes it attractive for a specific audience of the developed countries. While it would be incorrect to claim that yoga is entirely unchallenging athletically, it certainly is inherently more forgiving and newcomer-friendly. In most circumstances, the audience which chooses yoga is already predisposed to the concepts and ideas of holism, wellness, and spirituality rather than physical achievement and competition.
Therefore, it would be more logical to expect the same values and preferences from Lululemon’s customers. In such a setting, “selling ideas” is fundamentally more appropriate than expecting from the customers to appreciate practical characteristics of the goods such as sweat absorption. Besides, yoga practices are known to relieve stress, reduce tension, and otherwise benefit its practitioners psychologically. The companies which offer yoga services are well aware of that and modify their practices to cater to customer’s perceived rather than actual fulfillment of expectations. This approach eventually predisposes the customers to a specific mindset and prompts the search of recognizable values in supporting products not necessarily directly connected to their activities.
This leads us to another advantage of the selected alternative. It is already obvious that most of the newly obtained customers are interested in the created image more than in the actual value of the product. Importantly, a similar pattern can be traced in the behaviors of the deflecting customers. Specifically, according to the critics, the serious athletes and yoga practitioners are repelled by the new message the Lululemon’s merchandise is associated with – that posing as an athlete rather than being one. An important takeaway here is that both parties are driven by the message associated with the product at least to some degree. This leads us to the conclusion that it is possible to retain the lost audience segment by amending the image of the brand (since neither the quality of goods nor the pricing policies are cited as reasons for dissatisfaction). Importantly, the chosen strategy allows us to readjust the reputation rather than gain favorability of one group by sacrificing the other. It should be noted that while these assumptions align with the existing experience of other businesses, at the current stage they are largely speculative and would require additional research before being addressed in implementation.
Next, the chosen path offers the long-term benefits for the company. First, it leads to covering the biggest audience without repelling the already established customer strata. Second, under the condition that the brand image does not become diluted and lose its appeal to both parties, covering larger part of the market will secure the growth of the company in the future and allow steady growth of sales. Admittedly, such result is only possible in the case where all the marketing decisions are appropriately selected and thoughtfully implemented. Finally, the diversification of markets presents better opportunities to safeguard the business against unpredictable occurrences in any given field. The company will also be able to maintain its knowledge base up to date, covering the quality and technological proficiency as well as design and marketing skills.
As was mentioned above, the chosen strategy also presents the greatest challenge in terms of the amount of introduced changes and allocated resources. On the one hand, it requires a significant alternation of the current marketing policy similar to the first option. On the other hand, it necessitates significant market research possibly superseding that of the second alternative. Nevertheless, upon obtaining a full picture and addressing criticism, the company is expected to get praise of the public, adding to its success.
Description of Implementation Plan
Since the suggested strategy requires significant resource allocation and, by extension, commitment of the company staff, the first stage of the implementation must be directed at sharing vision of the new strategy, communicating its mission, and securing commitment from the company employees. Once this is achieved, a research aimed at determining relevance and weight of the recent concerns (e.g. losing customers due to image backlash) must be launched. During the next stage, the results of the research can be used to construct the strategy addressing the most vulnerable points which also display the biggest threat to corporate image and lead to loss of customers.
Importantly, the development of the transformation model requires the development of the relevant metrics which would allow evaluating the execution of the plan, detecting deviations, and adjusting business practices in a timely manner. Appropriate communication channels are desirable to achieve synchronicity between departments and ensure integrity of operations. One possible way of doing this is establishing scheduled meetings where recent updates would be shared and discussed to review the course of actions and decide on alternatives whenever required. After this, the designed strategy may enter execution phase. All changes in customer behavior patterns must be assessed, logged, and brought up in subsequent meetings. To ensure the success of the process, a workplace culture should be built that can be aligned with the set goals and vision. One important aspect which should be addressed is the attention to marketing decisions that may qualify as deceptive and unethical. This may be achieved by additional employee training and promoting healthy corporate ethics. After this, the process is limited to monitoring, maintenance, and occasional interventions.
Conclusion
The direction chosen by Lululemon is an ultimately correct one since it aligns well with values of its customer base. However, it is coarsely conceived, does not account for important details, and uses deceptive marketing techniques, which led to criticisms and undesirable changes in brand image. The chosen solution allows the introduction of necessary amendments without disrupting the existing business model. If implemented appropriately, the suggested alternative leads to retention of two major customer segments, improved company image, and several long-term benefits. Despite being fairly demanding in terms of resources and staff commitment, the chosen solution is possible under the condition that the suggested plan is followed with proper diligence.
Transnational strategy- internet transactions transnational inc. acquire, develop and deploy technical and business capabilities in the field of transactions on the internet and world wide web. The advent avails low cost and high speed for business and other individuals based on universal capability for instantaneous and low-cost communication with very high flows of information and a high degree of independence from external control.
Multi-domestic firms include general motor. The differentiation and cost leadership strategies seek competitive advantage in a range of market segments. The differentiation and cost focus strategies are adopted in a narrow industry. This strategy engrosses selecting one or more criteria used by buyers and then positioning the business uniquely to meet those criteria. This strategy is usually associated with charging a premium price for the product that often reflects the higher production costs and extra value-added features provided for the consumer. Differentiation is about charging a premium price that more than covers the additional production costs, and about giving customers clear reasons to prefer the product over other, less differentiated products. (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989)
Possible ways a firm can reduce the UNIT COST when it comes to the production of A global brand of baby food under a global strategy
The firm should use the most efficient means of transportation in which bulk transport must be considered. The company should use the cheapest material with quality material to produce the most nutritious product. Low cost will be achieved if the selection criteria of the material are well done.
A “Global” version of furniture
Product development determines product cost. Practice Concurrent Engineering with the early and active participation of manufacturing, purchasing, and vendors. The use of commercialization techniques will ensure low costs. Co-locating manufacturing engineers ensures the best teamwork If outsourcing, choose a local vendor which ensures early and active vendor participation in product development teams.
The company should offer an introduction of different enterprises to every country in order to minimize the transportation cost of the final products. Standard products can be built to order without forecast or inventory and specials can be mass-customized on-demand. Doubling labor productivity, cutting production throughput times, and reducing inventories as well as cutting errors and scrap correction reduces unit costs. (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989)
Suggestion on how QFD applies to make a global laptop computer
In making a global laptop computer, the quality function deployment applies in many ways. it involves translating decision criteria or critical-to-quality issues into a prioritized set of targets- institutions and individuals; choices- in quality and sizes, or improvement opportunities thus helping to produce better products with high service provision in an easier process. The QFD will also apply in choosing strategies required to be competitive enough. This will be incorporated during the time of choosing the design criteria.
It will support the manufacturer in acquiring the matrix. It will provide producers the opportunity to improve organizational responsiveness to the voice of the customer The QFD will be used to drive out the Critical to Quality issues. Having a complete set of prioritized critical technical objects will improve control limit – specification Limit relationships.. Knowledge of design criteria conflicts are found in the QFD correlation matrix – it provides may provide production teams with the opportunity to make large-scale reductions in product or service defects. (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989)
Multinational firms
Crown Cork and Seal and First Union Corporation: they use a low price strategy in their commodity distribution.
Reference
Barczak, G. (2003): Managing Global New Product Development Teams: Institute for Global Innovation Management Working Papers.
Bartlett, C. A. and S. Ghoshal, (1989): Managing across borders: The transnational solution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Charles, F. S and George B. (1964): A bibliography of international Business: Columbia University. N. Y.: Columbia University Press.
De George, R. (1995): Competing with Integrity in International Business: New York: Oxford University Press.
This paper presents an analysis of market data provided in Table 1 and 2 (both of which are market indicators for a competitive market). Firm ‘A’ is personified and the business strategies, tactics, and plans for driving a prospective market have been discussed appropriately with references made periodically to factual and theoretical justifications.
Focus Groups – Period 0
Customer
RetailSales(mill.)
UnitSales(000’s)
%Chg(units)
1E $
$5,735
479
-10.00%
1T $
$6,891
334
7.00%
2E $
$6,885
466
5.00%
2F $
$20,798
952
4.00%
2M $
$3,983
181
8.00%
3S $
$5,649
204
6.00%
3T $
$5,568
286
4.00%
3U $
$6,833
322
5.00%
4F $
$6,849
237
5.00%
4L $
$4,401
111
5.00%
5L $
$5,652
158
5.00%
5U $
$10,335
413
9.00%
Total
$89,576
4142
4.00%
1E: Value Seekers – Economy
UnitShare
ClassFit
Size
Price
Perf
Int
Styl
Safe(Hot)
Qua(Hot)
Delite
0.69
Economygood
good
$11kbest
good
worst
avg.
worst
worst
Alec
0.3
Economygood
big
$14kworst
good
best
avg.
best
best
1T: Value Seekers – Truck
UnitShare
ClassFit
Size
Price
Perf(Hot)
Int
Styl
Safe
Qua(Hot)
Estruck
0.61
Truckgood
too small
$21kworst
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
best
Detonka
0.27
Truckgood
too small
$19kbest
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
worst
2E: Families – Economy
UnitShare
ClassFit
Size
Price
Perf
Int
Styl
Safe(Hot)
Qua(Hot)
Alec
0.69
Economygood
small
$14kgood
good
avg.
poor
good
avg.
Delite
0.15
Economygood
too small
$11kbest
good
poor
poor
worst
avg.
Efizz
0.09
Familyok
big
$18kavg.
good
poor
poor
avg.
avg.
Alfa
0.03
Familyok
good
$23kavg.
good
avg.
poor
good
avg.
Defy
0.02
Familyok
big
$24kavg.
good
avg.
poor
good
avg.
Cafav
0.01
Familyok
big
$29kpoor
good
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
Boffo
0
Familyok
big
$32kworst
poor
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
2F: Families – Family
UnitShare
ClassFit
Size
Price
Perf
Int
Styl
Safe(Hot)
Qua(Hot)
Defy
0.32
Familygood
good
$24kavg.
good
avg.
poor
good
avg.
Efizz
0.3
Familygood
good
$18kbest
good
worst
poor
avg.
worst
Alfa
0.25
Familygood
too small
$23kavg.
good
avg.
poor
good
avg.
Cafav
0.04
Familygood
big
$29kpoor
good
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
Boffo
0.01
Familygood
big
$32kworst
good
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
2M: Families – Minivan
UnitShare
ClassFit
Size
Price
Perf
Int
Styl
Safe(Hot)
Qua(Hot)
Camini
0.64
Minivangood
big
$22kworst
good
best
avg.
best
avg.
Estruck
0.09
Truckpoor
good
$21kavg.
poor
avg.
avg.
avg.
best
Detonka
0.07
Truckpoor
small
$19kbest
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
avg.
3S: Singles – Sports
UnitShare
ClassFit
Size
Price
Perf(Hot)
Int
Styl(Hot)
Safe
Qua
Buzzy
0.43
Sportsgood
big
$33kworst
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
best
Alfa
0.1
Familypoor
small
$23kavg.
good
avg.
poor
good
avg.
Defy
0.1
Familypoor
big
$24kavg.
good
avg.
poor
good
avg.
Awesome
0.07
Utilitypoor
good
$20kgood
good
poor
poor
worst
avg.
Efizz
0.07
Familypoor
good
$18kbest
good
poor
poor
avg.
avg.
Cafav
0.06
Familypoor
big
$29kavg.
good
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
Boffo
0.05
Familypoor
big
$32kpoor
good
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
3T: Singles – Truck
UnitShare
ClassFit
Size
Price
Perf(Hot)
Int
Styl(Hot)
Safe
Qua
Detonka
0.73
Truckgood
good
$19kbest
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
worst
Estruck
0.11
Truckgood
big
$21kgood
avg.
avg.
avg.
avg.
avg.
Buzzy
0.01
Sportsok
small
$33kworst
good
best
best
avg.
best
3U: Singles – Utility
UnitShare
ClassFit
Size
Price
Perf(Hot)
Int
Styl(Hot)
Safe
Qua
Awesome
0.55
Utilitygood
too small
$20kavg.
good
poor
poor
poor
poor
Euro
0.14
Utilitygood
big
$25kavg.
good
poor
avg.
poor
poor
Detonka
0.06
Truckpoor
big
$19kgood
good
poor
poor
poor
poor
Efizz
0.06
Familypoor
too small
$18kgood
good
poor
poor
avg.
poor
Alec
0.06
Economypoor
too small
$14kbest
good
avg.
poor
avg.
avg.
Buzzy
0.02
Sportsok
good
$33kworst
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
avg.
4F: High Income – Family
UnitShare
ClassFit
Size
Price
Perf
Int(Hot)
Styl
Safe(Hot)
Qua
Cafav
0.46
Familygood
small
$29kavg.
good
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
Boffo
0.19
Familygood
small
$32kavg.
good
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
Defy
0.1
Familygood
too small
$24kavg.
good
avg.
poor
good
avg.
Alfa
0.05
Familygood
too small
$23kgood
good
avg.
poor
good
avg.
Beaut
0.04
Luxuryok
big
$36kavg.
good
avg.
best
avg.
avg.
Efizz
0.03
Familygood
too small
$18kbest
good
poor
poor
avg.
avg.
Climax
0.02
Luxuryok
big
$43kworst
good
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
4L: High Income – Luxury
UnitShare
ClassFit
Size
Price
Perf
Int(Hot)
Styl(Hot)
Safe
Qua
Climax
0.65
Luxurygood
good
$43kworst
good
best
worst
avg.
avg.
Beaut
0.26
Luxurygood
small
$36kbest
good
worst
best
avg.
avg.
5L: Enterprisers – Luxury
UnitShare
ClassFit
Size
Price
Perf(Hot)
Int
Styl(Hot)
Safe
Qua
Beaut
0.67
Luxurygood
good
$36kavg.
good
worst
best
avg.
avg.
Climax
0.12
Luxurygood
big
$43kworst
good
best
worst
avg.
avg.
Buzzy
0.08
Sportsok
small
$33kbest
good
good
good
avg.
good
5U: Enterprisers – Utility
UnitShare
ClassFit
Size
Price
Perf(Hot)
Int
Styl(Hot)
Safe
Qua
Euro
0.54
Utilitygood
small
$25kworst
good
avg.
best
avg.
avg.
Awesome
0.17
Utilitygood
too small
$20kbest
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
avg.
Camini
0.06
Minivanpoor
big
$22kavg.
good
avg.
avg.
avg.
avg.
Industry: ind1 : Middlesex University Spring 2010
Period 0
Table 1: Market indicators for a competitive market.
Emphatically, the deliberation on the market performance is conducted with the context provided below:
A summary of Period 0 (starting) situation for Firm ‘A’ and employed an initial strategy;
Firm A’s performance objectives and actual performance;
Key strategic moves that led to success for Firm ‘A’;
How Firm ‘A’ is projected for the future; and
Important lessons learned from the simulation experience.
A Brief Summary of the Period 0 (Starting) Situation for Firm ‘A’ and Employed Initial Strategy
The principal aim of getting a company started is to achieve financial profit, to make money, or earn appreciable returns! There may also be other necessities that could bring about one starting a company/industry. But what the reason would be for getting a business started, there must be a stable and well-defined growth layout. There must be the satisfaction of customers. There must be resources to keep the company up and ahead.
Products – Period 0
(Vehicles, Classes, New Vehicles, Upgrades)
Vehicle
Class
UnitShare
MSRP
Size
Eng. (HP)
Int
Styl
Safe
Qual
Alec
Economy
13.00%
15351
14
135
2
1
3
2
Alfa
Family
7.50%
24084
28
165
2
1
3
2
Awesome
Utility
7.40%
21149
40
220
1
1
1
1
Beaut
Luxury
4.10%
38385
62
240
2
4
2
2
Boffo
Family
2.30%
35003
49
200
4
3
2
2
Buzzy
Sports
3.30%
34652
54
190
3
3
2
3
Cafav
Family
4.70%
31361
49
165
4
2
2
2
Camini
Minivan
4.20%
24144
82
200
2
1
2
1
Climax
Luxury
2.50%
45997
74
240
4
2
2
2
Defy
Family
9.30%
25921
43
165
2
1
3
2
Delite
Economy
10.00%
11293
5
85
1
1
1
1
Detonka
Truck
8.80%
19572
66
185
1
1
1
1
Efizz
Family
9.40%
18869
35
140
1
1
2
1
Estruck
Truck
6.60%
21843
75
280
1
1
1
2
Euro
Utility
7.10%
26528
59
200
1
3
1
1
Table 2: Industrial performance reflecting the competitive market progressive report from period 0.
Resources, in this case, include materials and labor-drives. Without very well defined and stratified structures or goals, a company no matter the liquidity will collapse. From Table 1, it can be seen that quite a several firms have demonstrated workable market strategies.
For example, Alec capitalizes on the economy offers safer products, and has achieved a 13.00% market index. On the other hand, Alfa is a business based on family delivery, has emphasized safety, and achieves a 7.50% market index. This lag behind Alec could be consequent of limitations in family patronages of the product from the Alfa group. It can notice however that the strategy sales better than Beaut which capitalizes on luxury and offers higher stylish products- yet the firms achieve a net market index of 4.10%.
Lately, to have a better understanding of market drift, firms have employed the application of data mining in evaluating products as they attract marketing. Even though data mining is only an emerging concept in addressing market expectations, it is already a one-stop point for the unification of parallel/distribution processes, visualizations, artificial-intelligence, machine-learning, as well as statistical visualization of market trends.
This tool could also be seen as a process involving the review of a pattern, an association, an anomaly, and a statistically relevant structure for projecting market expectations (Maskell and Baggaley, 2003, p.231). The significance of this important tool in aiding knowledge-based marketing discoveries, the realization of emergent phenomenal, and enhancing the general understanding of analytical situations is tremendous. This could be effective for a better position market index for the firms in Table 1.
Firm A’s Performance Objectives and Actual Performance
It is not just enough to start a company but it is worth ensuring that there is the availability of a quality product for the maximum benefit and satisfaction of the customer through a price check. For Firm ‘A’, there was a staffing inadequacy that made the actualization effective product production and distribution. To deal with the problem of staffing, which is internal to the company, there is a need to scout for staff, especially online through freelance marketing.
In Africa, where much of the population constitutes young desperate youths, a well-defined strategy which may be in the form of community incentives may be adopted by Firm ‘A’ and this will market the product through the people. The cost of maintaining staff will then be reduced.
Generally, the performance objectives of the firm ‘a’ are as follow:
Promotion of fairness, efficiency, and maintain an orderly market;
Aid customers in retailing fair transactions; and
Improve the capabilities of business and enhance the efficiency of a return index.
Firm ‘A’ could also utilize cost allocation as a tool for ensuring its equitable running. Cost allocation entails a way of attributing costs to specified cost-centers in an organizational setting. Usually, the allocation of costs by companies is necessitated by the need to adequately satisfy the sharing of relevantly incurred costs. This can be likened to spreading costs across end-users. The allocation of costs is therefore a mere assignment of costs to several units that constitute a company.
In a multidivisional business that requires security services for the protection of its infrastructure, for instance, the various units that constitute the business will be incorporated in costs for securing the required security. Allocating costs to the various departments of a company is usually done arbitrary (as practiced by coca-cola international, for instance). One other firm that has adopted the use of cost allocation effectively is CPK.
CPK is a household name in restaurant service and offers California-style cuisine, represented through creative pizzas, pasta, soups, sandwiches, appetizers, and desserts. Opened on March 27, 1985, by the attorney’s Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax, CPK is currently owned, licensed, or franchised at 265 locations in 321 states and 10 foreign countries.
This makes it a chain company with networked units that are centrally controlled from its managerial framework. The chain has two directions of development, the full-service restaurants, and the CPK/ASAP concept which focuses on the fast-casual service in significantly smaller restaurants.
The consideration of CPK here for an analysis of its cost allocation is limited to the year 2010, and is based on the company’s systematic administration through which it has achieved distinct allocation of cost to its various sects. The performance credibility and an effective cost allocation of CPK have been reflected in its rating by Forbes magazine as been self-made, and on enlistment as one of America’s best small companies. This rating takes into consideration the fact that CPK has annual revenues in the range between $5million and $750 million, being publicly traded at least for a year.
Key Strategic Moves that Led to a Success for Firm ‘A’
Recently, business operatives have realized the need to adopt the use of social media in reaching out to customers. The tool is so far turning in impressive results – and the need for attractive branding of software is made pronounced. Jive is directly engaged in the process of designing sophisticated but user-friendly software that targets attracting customers on mediums like Facebook/Twitter. But apart from this, a company must have a clearly defined target and sectionalize its production line to benefit demand.
Caterpillar Inc (Abbreviated as CAT on the NYSE) as one leading global company, by revenue, for instance, has consistently led its industrial sector in the United States in past few decades and at the same time competing in the global market basically from a domestic-manufacturing-base (DMB) recording over half of the sales made to overseas clients.
In its last quarterly report in 2010, this was reflecting when the company presented a $707million profit; an increment of 91.0% as of what was obtained a year earlier. The profit was realized through an increment of about 31.0% in sales/revenues which amounted to $10.40billion for the quarter.
Firm ‘A’ therefore adopted a customer-based marketing approach- this fresh approach constituted four elements as noted by Hutt and Speh:
“Growing the core business, pursuing acquisitions, concentrating on emerging business opportunities and;
“Doubling investments in investments in emerging markets’ (Hutt and Speh, 2009, p.505).
These guidelines were generally grown through:
“Drive scale in large markets;
“Take higher related share in small markets;
“Go for customization
“Manage customer retention;
“Develop local and differential products
“Extend private labeling
“Fill in product white spaces, and
“Plan for cannibalization” (Hutt and Speh, 2009, p.513).
However, to improve upon these market strategies:
Firm ‘A’ will support second-language training to ensure employees meet their position requirements — with a focus on those in administrative, clerical, and commerce positions. Second-language training will also support the Department’s succession planning by enabling career progression, particularly into EX positions;
Enhancing diversity and employment equity remains a priority for Firm ‘A’, and efforts in 2010–2011 will concentrate on targeted recruitment for visible minorities across the Department, and for women, persons with disabilities, and Aboriginal people. Also, there will be focused attention on creating a workplace that encourages and supports diversity and professional growth for all Firm ‘A’ employees through the various sector and departmental awareness initiatives;
Projected turnover for a variety of groups — including commerce officers, statisticians, economists, and policy officers — will create opportunities to attract new employees and help current employees develop new skills and competencies;
Firm ‘A’ will advance work aimed at modernizing intellectual property (IP) legislation to better facilitate innovation and ensure effective rights enforcement, decrease uncertainty for businesses and inventors, support the commercialization of ideas, and support inventors who operate on a global scale by aligning to laws. Work will include support for the introduction and passage of copyright legislation that balances the needs of creators and users;
Firm ‘A’ will work with the Communications and Marketing Branch to implement a strategy to promote awareness of the rights and responsibilities of the stakeholders in the insolvency system and to encourage compliance with the legislative framework;
To ensure the orderly and effective succession of executive talent, sectors will enhance learning, training, development, and mentoring opportunities to ensure executive feeder groups have the critical management competencies and effective leadership skills needed to take on leadership roles vacated due to retirements; and
Firm ‘A’ will employ the implementation of new technologies, tools, and systems to address service delivery needs, including collaboration, case management, customer management, reporting, web portal, content management/web publishing, and similar common systems that may arise (Johnson, 2011, p.47).
How Firm ‘A’ Projects for the Future
Every institution, organization, or company has forces by which it stands or weakness that if not appropriately curtailed hampers its advancement systematically. The analysis of Firm ‘A’ is dependent on its progressive activities over the years. To achieve a reliable expected market, there is a need for the administration of firm ‘A’ to consider previous and present market situations by analysis.
Traditional tools for analyzing profit/costing are more effective when used in expressing market values. A particular significant role that management plays (using these tools) has to do with the identification and elimination of non-value-adding activities in the entire chain-value (Alan, 1997, p.57). The fundamental target of management has to do with the promotion of activities that add value to the market structure (Barry, 1998, p.122).
There could be incidences whereby there is a disjoint between strategy and tactics majorly not been deliberate, and this would clearly define the target of triggering the operation of the organization. Activities that do not add value to the profitability of the organization are capable of generating an increased production cost, inefficiency, and consequently, result in loss of profit. For an institution or an organization to continue to be active in terms of performance and value creation, there is the need to monitor constantly the performance of the system particularly using cost-value analysis.
Cost value presents an analysis of various business aspects in an institution or an organization in terms of opportunity-cost and economic-rents (Gulfer, 2010, p.88). Cost value as a market monitoring tool is effective in determining the aspect or unit of a business that is worth expansion, selling, or shutting down (Schermerhorn, 2004, p.9). This constitutes a very vital aspect of evaluating the market or an economy, particularly in terms of self-assessment as well as planning (Armstrong and Philip, 2010, p.98).
If a boom is to be achieved by Firm ‘A’, the production must supersede the breakeven point. Breakeven analysis is an expression of the breakeven quantity which has been very effective in the determination of the breakeven point. Mathematically:
BEQ= FC/P-VC …. (Equation 1)
Defining the terms from equation 1:
F C = Fixed-Costs; P = Price-Charged-per-unit; and V C = Variable-Costs-of-production.
Important Lessons Learned from the Simulation Experience
It is clear from the investigative analogy that Firm ‘A’ is aware of a customer-diverse demand, and then a competitive market. These, and a threat in the market, are significant for proper analysis of the prospect of the market. Investigations have also revealed that Firm ‘A’ could also utilize cost allocation as a tool for ensuring its equitable running.
Cost allocation entails a way of attributing costs to specified cost-centers in an organizational setting. The allocation of costs by companies is necessitated by the need to adequately satisfy the sharing of relevantly incurred costs. The need to adopt the use of social media in reaching out to customers is equally emphasized. This strategy will distinguish the company and its products which are not just fanciful but also available to most customers in a compact form.
There are two ways of reaching the target — finding new customers for existing products, processes. They are the industrial equivalents of consumer “Big Box” stores and can take revenue (Hutt and Speh, 2009, p.509).
Conclusion
As an effort to bring about an increment in profit realized from the market transaction, there is the need to understanding articulately the precise expenditure/cost as well as income ratio of an organization, especially in the 21st century. It is the responsibility of management to put in place necessary strategies in decision processes for the increment of the flow of case without comprising structural components that are comparable with bottom-line and expected profit margin. This paper is built on the need for users to be in enhancing marketing processes in the 21st century.
This paper presents an analysis of market data provided in table 1 and appendix 1 (both of which are market indicators for a competitive market). Firm ‘A’ is personified and the business strategies, tactics, and plans for driving a prospective market have been discussed appropriately with references made periodically to factual and theoretical justifications
Reference List
Alan, D., 1997. Political Handbook of the World 1997. Binghamton, NY: CSA.
Armstrong, G. and Philip, K., 2010. Marketing: An Introduction. New York: Pearson & Prentice Hall.
Barry, T., 1998. Statesman Yearbook 1998-99. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Gulfer, H., 2010. Ethics in International Business. LA: Weldom House Press.
Hutt, M. and Speh, T. 2009. Business Marketing Management. New Delhi: South- Western Cengage Learning.
Johnson, H. H., 2011. Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing-International. New York: Longman.
Maskell, P. and Baggaley, Y., 2003. Practical Lean Accounting. New York: Productivity Press.
Schermerhorn, J. 2004. Core Concepts of Management. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
