Category: Corporate Strategy

Business Strategies

Many scholars and practitioners have been investigating the essence of a business strategy. Most of them conclude that the latter is a crucial aspect to gain profits. Hence, research on the process of creating this strategy, identifying its importance, examining tools and theories to choose the appropriate one seems relevant. Below, an analysis of the mentioned aspects will be conducted in a consistent and coherent manner.

The Importance of Business-Level Strategy

The term strategy refers to an interconnected set of long-term measures, or approaches, to strengthen the viability and power of the organisation in relation to its competitors. Essentially, it is a set of rules for making decisions that guide the organisation in its activities. There are plenty of external factors that motivate the creation of a company’s business-level strategy. In almost any period, a market provides several opportunities for the growth of the company, regardless of what stage of activity this market itself is at. It should be admitted that a firm’s internal resources are not enough to create and implement a business-level strategy.

The primary resource for this strategy and its implementation is an understanding of its importance and significant experience in improving and realisation of it within the scope of the business model of the company. Then, the minimum – but not the sufficient – requirement is a motivation of a company’s employees. If managers or executives are not ready to implement the tasks within the framework of the strategy, then the mentioned model, regardless of the effectiveness incorporated into it, will not be successful.

A coherent and consistent strategy provides the central guidelines for the improvement of the company’s performance, allowing identifying both internal and external opportunities for the development process. However, the presence of this strategy cannot guarantee significant profit margins and competitive advantages (Lazzari, 2019). Strategic management and the clear determination of aims establish notable conditions for the development of the enterprise, as well as the appropriate distribution of resources.

The strategy itself will not be implemented in any form without proper organisation and implementation of the strategic management element. The latter, as an integral part of a firm, is one of the cardinal differences between the business-level strategy and other forms of organisation of the company. Most policies do not have it, and all business processes are usually regulated by tactical tools. Tactical management undoubtedly has several advantages, such as a high speed of making changes to a single business process. Still, to implement the business-level strategy, tactical management alone is not enough.

If, until this strategy was developed, the company did not have a capable strategic management unit, then its development is the primary prerequisite of the business model’s success. Its functions include not only the creation of the strategy and its implementation. There is also the development of strategic goals, taking into account maintaining control over business processes through performance indicators. Analysis of the existing business model and its transformation is also one of the critical functions of top managers. Hence, the importance of the business-level strategy indicates the necessity of efficient strategic management.

In the framework of the business model, professional leaders and business-level strategy are a great competitive advantage, which can become the main argument in the struggle for a market share. Competitive strategies are aimed at ensuring that the company is able to take a stable and profitable position in the industry in which it operates (Kumar, 2020; Taylor, 2020). Competition unfolds only between companies that have decided on a positive format and strategy vector. The strategies themselves will be crucial competitive advantages (Mohr, 2019). Their quality defines a company’s place in the market among numerous competitors. This quality should be understood as the number of components of development directions, as well as an assessment of their effectiveness, taking into account the maximum number of factors. Hence, it seems reasonable to state that the business-level strategy and the sufficient strategic management that maintains it are a foundation for gaining competitive advantages.

It should be mentioned that in the strategic planning process of a company, there are some mistakes that might take place. The most common ones are the assumption that the market will develop constantly, and that competitors will behave the same; indeed, conditions are more complicated. First, the environment in which the company exists is changing continuously; second, competitors are not standing still and also pursue the goal of performance improvement. Thus, the need for strategic planning is justified by the fact that the business environment is not stable, and the future is rather uncertain. It is tough to accurately predict the activities of a company for many years ahead. Nevertheless, it is quite possible to identify market development trends and factors that will affect a particular business to obtain a competitive advantage.

The Process of Strategy’s Creation and Implementation

The process of the development of a business strategy should be considered as an essential element of any company’s or entrepreneur’s way of success. Businessmen have always been emphasising the latter statement as, according to their experience, it is a foundation for the coherent and smooth functioning of their enterprises (Seth, 2019). However, there are plenty of approaches to the mentioned process, so the quantity and names of the stages vary considerably.

As stated above, there are different visions on how to organise the process of strategies’ creation, as well as implementation. The phases fall in the range between four and six (Clayton, 2019; McDonald, 2015; Essentials guide, no date; 6 steps, 2019). Nevertheless, all the sources claim approximately the same – the only substantial difference is in formulations. The essence of this process might be determined as setting concrete goals and their consistent realisation step-by-step without an unnecessary rush, applying related business analysis tools such as SWOT (Richards, no date; Clayton, 2019). However, it is vital to define what each phase aims to achieve and why.

It seems reasonable to adhere to the 6-stage approach because it contains the most consistent and clear rationale. The first phase relates to the definition of the company, which means that it has to identify its target market, goals and the requirements of potential customers. “Without a strong customer base whose needs are being filled, an organisation will not be successful” (6 steps, 2019). The firm is to figure out the factors that are of the greatest value for clients. One of these factors is whether a customer can buy products or services at lower prices than the company offers.

The second stage is to define the firm’s strategic mission that provides a long-term perspective of what the company aspires to achieve. “A clearly stated mission will provide the organisation with a guide for carrying out its plans” (6 steps, 2019). Components of a solid mission have to include the organisation’s values, the nature and scope of the business, visible competitive advantages and the vision of future activities. This stage creates a foundation for the operating of the firm as a whole.

Then, the third stage is the formulation of the strategy, which implies the identifying of the performance goals required to attain distinctly settled objectives. The latter can consist of “market position relative to the competition, production of goods and services, desired market share, improved customer services, corporation expansion, advances in technology, and sales increases” (6 steps, 2019). These objectives should be consented with all employees and stakeholders to ensure significant profit margins in the future. Moreover, the personnel is to have clear individual roles according to stated responsibilities.

The following stage is to formulate a competitive strategy, which means that the company should find out its marketplace and what to do to survive in competition. Each unit of the firm must be aware of its targets and act in accordance with defined objectives and propose any improvements that might strengthen competitiveness (6 steps, 2019). Moreover, the enterprise should develop a flexible tactic of how to adapt to changeable conditions pf the market. It should be ready for any possible events and take action when necessary. At this stage, the company should apply complex research on the market’s peculiarities using such tools as SWOT, PESTEL or Porter’s five forces analysis.

The fifth phase implies the realisation of the formulated strategy. The firm may fulfil all the required stages to comprehend the market, determine itself and identify the competition. Nevertheless, “without implementing the strategy, the organization’s work will be of little to no value” (6 steps, 2019). The methods applied for the implementation of a strategy are known as a tactic. The latter is the individual actions that allow the company to realise its general goals.

The final stage is the evaluation of progress, which is vital to assess whether the enterprise will remain profitable further. “An organization must keep track of the progress it is making as defined by its strategic plan” (6 steps, 2019). If performance is far from acceptable, it is essential to be adaptable and change the ongoing strategy. The appropriate evaluation indicates the importance of transparent accountability and constant market monitoring.

It might be summarised that the mentioned stages are intersected and interdepended – none of these phases can be performed separately without considering the outcomes of the previous and preparing a foundation for the following one. However, the most important step may be the fourth one – identifying the competitive strategy. It is vital to determine the extent of competition, taking into account various factors – from the buyers’ power to the threat of substitution.

Tools and Models for Internal and External Analyses

For an enterprise, it is important to conduct continuous investigations of its performance. The latter is affected by both internal and external business environments, which contain a plethora of factors to consider (Williams, 2019; Kimberlee, 2019). Since the beginning of the 20^th century, scholars and practitioners have developed plenty of tools and models for assessing the mentioned environments. Hence, in order to figure out what benefits such analyses may bring, it might be rational to describe the four most popular tools for environmental analysis. Among them are SWOT, Porter’s value chain, Porter’s five forces and PESTEL.

SWOT is a universal strategic management technique; the object of SWOT can be any product, company, store, factory, country, educational institution or even a person. Companies conduct a SWOT analysis not only on their own product but also on the competitors’ one. This tool clearly organises all the information about the internal and external environment of any firm. The primary advantage of SWOT is that it allows looking at the position of a company, product or service in the industry (Grant, 2020). Therefore, it is among the most popular tools in risk management and decision-making. SWOT is aimed to provide exhaustive information on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are the elements of the tool.

Porter’s value chain is a series of sequential actions by a company to transform resources into a final product or service. In a general sense, this is a tool aimed at strategic planning, with the goal of a detailed study of the organisation. This chain is a practical model for summarising the challenges that the enterprise faces, allowing identifying potential opportunities necessary to achieve a competitive advantage for the organisation. In fact, every type of activity in the value chain is a potential source of competitive advantage (Tardi, 2020). This ultimately depends on knowledge of the industry structure, the choice of a standard strategy and those types of activities in the value chain that contain the maximum potential for enterprise competitiveness.

Michael Porter’s five forces theory for assessing potential risks was developed in the late 1970s but has remained accessible to this day. It consists of evaluating possible adverse events that may somehow affect the business in the future. The analysis is carried out in the context of 5 factors, or the so-called forces. Porter claimed that each of these factors exerts a certain pressure on the business (Chappelow, 2020). To some extent, they are considered external because the company cannot influence them in any way. This analysis method allows evaluating the prospects for business development in 5–10 years or more. Thus, it will be relevant if one plans to launch a new development strategy, release a new product or announce a service.

PEST analysis is indispensable for researching business conditions that a person cannot directly influence. Actually, the abbreviation PEST combines political, economic, social and technical factors that business people, marketers and managers strive to evaluate. In addition, PEST analysis helps to study market and consumer trends that directly affect the company’s sales and profits. From the angle of economics, the main task of PEST analysis is to determine the current resource allocation at the state level (Kenton, 2020). Social conditions are no less important as the consumption of the final product of the company depends on them. Technological factors become the causes of a sharp change in market conditions and the resulting ups and downs of individual players. The modification of the model is PESTEL, in which ecological and legal factors are also considered.

Thus, tools and models for internal and external analyses are an instrument for assessing and creating a strategy for the development of an enterprise’s activity that is founded on examining the following aspects. These common aspects are the efficiency of resource use, performance and profitability, which helps to identify competitive advantages at different stages of the business cycle. With their own set of indicators, the described analyses provide the relationship between the strategic and operational activities of the organisation, its strategy and financial goals. They give information about the market prospects of existing products, their durability and product portfolio, as well as help to develop a plan for creating new business segments.

Types of Strategies

Typology of Miles and Snow

The typology is based on the idea that managers aim to formulate strategies that meet the requirements of the external environment. Miles and Snow identify four such strategies: search, market share protection, analysis and response (Heil, no date). The organisation that has adopted the search strategy (prospector) is ready for innovation, risk, seeking new opportunities and striving for growth. A search strategy is appropriate in a dynamic environment where creativity is more important than productivity.

The activities of an organisation focused on defending a market share (defender strategy) are directly opposed to the actions of a prospector organisation. It is not associated with risk and the search for new opportunities but is focused on stability or even on cost reduction. The goal of this strategy is to preserve existing customers and not to innovate or seek growth opportunities. An organisation that uses an analyser strategy tries to maintain a stable business by innovating on the periphery. The analysis strategy occupies an intermediate position between the policy of search and the protection of market share. Then, a reaction strategy (reactor) is not a strategy at all. Rather, organisations react to dangers and opportunities with the sole aim of adapting. In reactors’ strategies, top managers do not develop a long-term plan or do not offer the organisation a clearly defined mission and goal.

Porter’s Generic Strategies

According to Porter, a competitive strategy is a list of actions that a company carries out to obtain higher profits than competitors. Due to a practical approach, the firm attracts consumers more quickly, incurs lower costs for attracting and retaining customers and receives better margins. Porter identified four types of basic competitive strategies in the industry (Kuijk, 2018; Figure 1). The choice of the kind of competitive strategy depends on the capabilities, resources and ambitions of the company in the market.

Porter’s matrix of competitive strategies is based on two parameters: market size and type of competitive advantage. Market types can be broad (large segment, whole product category, entire industry) or narrow (small market niche, accumulating the needs of a very restricted or specific target audience) (Pulaj, Kume and Cipi, 2015). The type of competitive advantage can be of two options: low cost of goods or a wide variety of assortment. Based on this matrix, Michael Porter identifies four main strategies for the company’s behaviour in the industry. A competitive product leadership strategy, or differentiation, means creating a unique product in the industry. The second one is a competitive cost leadership strategy or price leadership, which means companies’ capability to achieve the lowest cost level. The third and fourth are competitive focus strategies, or leadership in a niche, which means focusing all the company’s efforts on a specific narrow group of consumers.

Bowman’s Strategic Clock

Bowman created a significant strategy clock that expanded Porter’s approach (Riley, 2015; Figure 2). It should be claimed that companies usually do not choose competition in the first position. They exist in a discounted goods market, and not many firms want to be in it. Rather, they are forced into this position because their product does not have differentiated value. Organisations in the second position are low-cost leaders; these are enterprises that go to lower prices to bare lows; they balance with a shallow margin and with very high turnover.

Then, hybrids offer products at a lower cost, but with a higher perceived value than their budget brothers. Turnovers are a problem here, but these companies build a reputation by offering fair prices for reasonable goods. In the fourth position, there are firms that provide their customers with a high perceived value. They either increase the cost and support themselves even with low turnover, or they keep their prices low and seek more significant market share. The fifth position is for companies offering high perceived value and high prices. The product does not have to have real value, but the perception of value is enough for the client to give money for the product.

Furthermore, the sixth position implies that businesses simply raise the price without adding value at times. When the price rises, the profitability of such a company will also increase. The seventh category is a classic example of monopoly pricing in a market where only one company offers a product or service. Finally, the eighth position indicates that any company that implements this type of strategy will lose market share (Bhasin, 2019). It should be stated that the latter three categories are not viable strategies in genuinely competitive markets.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it seems reasonable to state that the above investigation indicates the necessity of an efficient business strategy for a firm. It was claimed that the process of creating and implementing this strategy might have six stages, among which the fourth one – developing competitive strategy – seems the most important. Tools and models for analysing a business environment were discussed. Finally, three approaches to choosing a business strategy were identified.

Reference List

1. 6 steps to formulating your business strategy (2019)
2. Bhasin, H. (2019) What is Bowman’s strategy clock? Web.
3. Chappelow, J. (2020) Porter’s 5 forces.Web.
4. Clayton, J. (2019) The five stages of the strategic management process. Web.
5. Essentials guide to strategic planning (no date) Web.
6. Grant, M. (2020)Strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) analysis. Web.
7. Heil, K. (no date) Miles and Snow typology. Web.
8. Kenton, W. (2020) PEST analysis. Web.
9. Kimberlee, L. (2019) Internal & external strategic plan development. Web.
10. Kuijk, A. (2018) Porter’s generic strategies. Web.
11. Kumar, V. (2020) Business Strategy is so important for all size of organisation – why and how?Web.
12. Lazzari, Z. (2019) The importance of business strategies. Web.
13. McDonald, J (2015) 6 steps to create an effective business strategy. Web.
14. Mohr, A. (2019) The importance of strategic planning. Web.
15. Pulaj, E., Kume, V. and Cipi, A. (2015) ‘The impact of generic competitive strategies on organizational performance. The evidence from Albanian context’, European Scientific Journal, 11(28), pp. 273–284.
16. Richards, L. (no date) Development of business strategies. Web.
17. Riley, J. (2015) Bowman’s strategic clock (strategic positioning). Web.
18. Seth, S. (2019) Business development: The basics. Web.
19. Tardi, C. (2020) Value chain. Web.
20. Taylor, A. (2020) Why business strategy is becoming more important in the marketplace. Web.
21. Williams, R. (2019) Why is an internal analysis important?Web.

Introduction

This paper has basically discussed the various benefits that Xerox has gained since developing a strategy of employing women and the minority groups in the United States. Xerox being in the competitive business requires a very clear and precise mechanism or strategy in order to counter its competitors who are threatening it existence and profitability. It is important that Xerox has decided to employ women and the minority group since people will now want to associate with it because of its conscience of the society’s needs. This paper will also discuss the methods which Xerox human resource management has enforced in order to attract more women and people from the minority groups in the company.

Discussion

Following of Laws and Guidelines

Managers and employees have a responsibility to ensure that they follow laws and guidelines, but the human resource professionals must ensure that these rules and guidelines are adhered to. If this is not done, the human resource professionals will have failed in their responsibility and therefore liable to any shortcomings that may occur (Stewart & Brown, 2008). Human resource professionals should make sure that they do some follow-up in order to see how the guidelines and laws are being implemented on the ground. Follow-ups are not enough, but they should also punish the managers and the employees who do not adhere to these important business guideline and rules. In order to encourage the managers and employees in following and implementing rules and guidelines, the human resource professionals should introduce awards to companies which follow these directions and reprimand those who don’t.

Another way of encouraging managers and employees is by offering individual awards. Employees, who follow these guidelines and laws to the letter, should be promoted to the next job group or even their salaries increased in order to encourage others to do the same. Human resource professionals should offer companies with ethics officers whose responsibility is to offer guidelines on how to implement laws, thus helping the managers and employees in doing the same (Stewart & Brown, 2008).

Benefits of Hiring Women and Minorities

Since the implementation of the report which recommended that Xerox employ women and staff from the minority, the profits of the company have substantially increased. By bringing women on board, the society see it as a very conscious way of implementing affirmative action and customers have started streaming in. In order for a company to increase sales it must consider the society’s requirements so as to satisfy their needs and by employing the minority Xerox was able to overcome these needs and people surrounding the company became its customers, thus increasing profits (Sowell, 2004). Research has shown that women are moiré had working compared to men; hence Xerox took the advantage of employing women in order to increase its output consequently doubling-up the profits. When one is picked from a marginalized group he/she tends to work extra hard with the intention of retaining their job: this phenomenon has made Xerox increase its profits.

Changes made by Xerox

Xerox has done certain changes in order to attract women and minorities. For example, the management came up with a flexible working timetable for women who have children below the age of three years: where such women can rush home to see their kids during some hours of the day. The company has also ensured that sexual harassment against women in the workplace is highly punishable unlike in other companies where workers are required to guard themselves (Sowell, 2004). The company has ensured that there are policies which fight against employment discrimination thus being advantageous to the minority. Some companies in America still have the perception that people from a certain race should work in a certain level of work and not higher but in Xerox there is a policy which is clear on this matter and anybody can work on any level and type of work. It is evident that in some companies around the United States of America have not broken the bond of discriminating the blacks and they even allow other employees to humiliate such people unlike in Xerox where every employee is equal to the other and they are treated fairly. Such changes have enabled Xerox to attract as many people from the minority as possible.

Evaluation

Many male chauvinists have considered what Xerox has done as an injustice to white men but it is considered by many, that employment of women is a great stride to a better future. More so, employment of minorities is not threatening the existence of white people in the job market since every one has the right to employment as it is in the constitution of United States of America and many other countries across the globe. In order for a society to develop, every one should be given a chance to showcase their skills and talent in any field and place. Many companies in the world should embrace the changing trend in the society and accept women as part of their human resource in order to bring equity across the world.

References

1. Sowell, T (2004). Affirmative Action around the World: An Empirical Study, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-10199-6.
2. Stewart, G., & Brown, K. (2008). Human Resource Management (1st Ed.), Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

A new venture must explore the market potential for their business and opportunities in the area, competition, and buying potential. Along with planning, it is the activity most directly concerned with matching corporate resources, present and future, with opportunity. The aim of the business plan is to bring a coordinated effort to the new enterprise, adjusting and balancing its resources, and producing programs of logical action.

Since marketing executives are faced with the necessity of utilizing scarce capabilities and resources in limited periods of time, allocation is a major problem. Effective allocation can only be achieved, however, through planned behavior. By enabling the conservation and allocation of human and physical resources, business planning provides the basic means for designing the marketing mix, implementing marketing programs, and establishing new objectives.

Concept Explanation

Recent years, a national cuisine and cooking becomes very population in America and Europe. Many people are big fans of different national foods visiting a favorite restaurant in their neighborhood. Greek food and drinks are not as popular as Chinese or Japanese food but represent unique opportunities for new businesses to expire this sector. Unique design of furniture, national drinks, and food will attract a lot of visitors to this club. The name of a Grill-Café-club is “MONO’ene” or ‘the only one’.

The concept is a three-floored building: top floor – Grill, main floor – Café, and underground – Club. The design and layout of all three floors will be Greek-oriented and the food served as well as the drinks served would be Greek. Top floor – Grill and main floor – Café will be open during day hours while an underground Club will be open from 7 PM till 4 AM. Thus, the main floor – Café will work from 10 AM till 4 AM. Top floor – Grill will work from 10 AM till 7 PM.

Product Design

The main emphasis will be on historical traditions and national food. Most Greeks are largely vegetarians. Common foods include beans, cabbage, leeks, lentils, onions, turnips, and some fruits. The Greek diet emphasizes porridges or grain pastes (maza), usually made from barley or entils. Historically, the city-state of Sparta was known for its “black broth,” made from pork stock, blood, vinegar, and salt. A special attention will be given to Greek wines. Since, 500 and 100 B.C. Greece is famous in the Mediterranean world for its fine wines, but the Greek cuisine never approaches that of the French. The rich of the Mediterranean countries like imported wines, especially those from two Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, Lesbos, and Chios. Traditional Greek wines are sweet wines (e.g., the Pramnian of Homer, and mead, from honey and herbs).

The Greeks (and Romans) followed the Egyptian custom of diluting wine with water, to dilute the salt used in wine as a preservative at that time. This practice also results in a beverage with sharply reduced alcohol content (Sample Menu).

Sample Menu

Spreads/Dips

1. Dip / Spread Sampler
2. Tzatzikí
3. Hummus
4. Skordaliá
5. Taramosaláta
6. Baba Ghannouj
7. Tirokafterí
8. Meltizanosaláta
9. Feta & Olives (Kalamata)
10. Horta

Mezedes/Appetizers

1. Dolmádes Mezés
2. Spanakópita Mezés
3. Loukánika Mezés
4. Biftékia Mezés
5. Falafel Mezés
6. Gyros Mezés
7. Paidákia per doz.
8. Garídes Skáras per doz.
9. Mezés Krasioù
10. Mezés Athena
11. Mezedes For The Table

Salades/Salads Served with Warm Pita Wedges

1. Chicken breast or gyro
2. Chicken or lamb souvláki
3. Seafood or shrimp souvláki
4. Salmon or swordfish
5. Horiátiki Saláta
6. Greek Saláta
7. Caesar Saláta
8. Garden Saláta

Greek Specialties

1. Mousaká
2. Pastitsio
3. Lamb Chops
4. Brizola Mosharisia
5. Lamb Souvláki Plate
6. Chicken Souvláki Plate
7. *Biftékia
8. *Loukánika
9. Gyro (Yiro) Plate

Greek Style Fries

Signature Sandwiches Served with Fresh Fruit or Greek Fries

• Beverages
  • Greek Coffee
  • Iced Frappe
  • Hot Tea
  • Herbal Tea
• Wine & Beer

Marketing Strategies

Mission is to provide visitors with unique services and products including Greek food and wines, lifestyle, and traditions. It means providing high-quality products and services cleanliness and value for all visitors.

Objectives include:

• To create a strong position on the market.
• To increase sales in 20 % in a year
• To open two new grill bars in two years.
• To be viewed as a premium brand in its market
• To expand target audience involving low-income segment.

Marketing Strategies will involve product differentiation and challenger strategy. What customization there is in it represents careful differentiation by major market segments. Differentiation entails creating real and perceived differences from other available offerings: Chinese and Italian, Japanese and Russian restaurants.

There are three dominant activities in the creation of value: Conceptualize it, Construct it, Communicate it. Marketing and planning will be based on these activities: the first stage of value creation comprises the generation of ideas leading to value enhancement. Modifications to an existing product or process are a part of value conceptualization (Crawford and Benedetto 23).

Regardless of all external factors, unique cultural factors may be the principal determinant of entry strategy. In one firm, only projects that promise major returns fast ever have a chance of support. This has led to exaggerated projections and aggressive entry for all projects, regardless of the market, and large losses for most. Firms that are highly innovative and successful tend to start small and to increase aggressiveness with increased knowledge of the market. The ideal culture for new ventures is one in which venturing is considered a necessity for achieving the goals of the firm and is understood to be fundamentally experimental in nature, with a great deal of unknowns, and with a high percentage of failures. The aim of the plan is to create a value-maximizing organization particularly instrumental in executing the strategy.

This is possible not only in the sense of providing a distinctive competence for the firm in the value dimensions in which it excels, but also in terms of creating an employee base that is more receptive to new ideas, to value shifts matching customer preference changes, and to value sharing between divisions of the same firm. strategies of value can originate from totally involved employees in a bottom-up reversal of the typical strategy process. However, to make the enhancement of value an intimate mingling of voluntary, internal efforts and external needs, a culture of value has to arise. We turn our attention next to the nature and building of such a culture (Crawford and Benedetto 28).

Customer Target

Potential buyers are diverse in character. These customers expect to find unique services, regardless of what the price and proposition. This target group for Greek food can be characterized as the skeptical consumers who are health-conscious and value unique lifestyles and luxuries. Most of them belong to middle class: upper and low middle class. Age segmentation will involve young people between the ages of 18 – 28, 28-45, 45 and older. These people by virtue of their shared interest in lifestyle, exhibit consumption behavior that is remarkably consistent across borders. Young consumers may not yet have conformed to cultural norms.

Gender segmentation has not a great influence on marketing. Psychographic segmentation helps to group people in terms of their attitudes, values, and lifestyles. The majority of the target audience is health-conscious people who admire good food and drinks and entertainments (Harris 92). The idea of “MONO’ene’ is to create a friendly atmosphere tailored according to needs and wants of potential clients. These values extend to social, religious, family life, entertainment, and other facets of life. For both of these age groups, the main trend in consumers’ behavior is the sense of satisfaction which is derived from the elements of the good life: happiness, security, enjoyment, and accomplishment. Many of these behavior elements tend to be subjective and therefore consumers may establish unrealistic standards (Crawford and Benedetto 51).

Today’s customers are smarter, better informed, and more intolerant of being “sold” than ever before. They expect doing business with you to be as hassle-free and gratifying for them as possible. When they experience good service elsewhere, they bring an if-they-can-do-it-why-can’t-you? attitude to their next transaction with the company. Research shows that responsiveness is closely tied to a customer’s perception of good service.

The advent of the Internet has changed the customer’s perception of responsiveness. More and more, customers are coming to expect round-the-clock customer service. Additionally, customers now arrive at a Website time-starved and eager to locate answers. Technology tools such as customer self-service, e-mail management, and live chat, and Web callback are proving increasingly critical in addressing the demanding customer’s responsiveness needs (Crawford and Benedetto 58).

Layout of the Plans

The following steps will be followed:

• Finding appropriate location and opening a club;
• Staff selection (30 persons);
• Opening a Web page
• Advertising and promotion campaigns (creating a unique message);
• Controls and Checking

Time Line

MONO’ene’ should follow strategic plan, because organizations without effective planning systems cannot achieve overall objectives and goals.

The First Month

• Analysis of the resources available
• Analysis of the resources required
• Staff selection and training
• Advertising campaign in local press and radio
• Organizing entity as a for-profit organization

The Second Month

• Buying new Equipment
• Inclusion in business people with strong ethical obligations (recruiting of staff)
• Aggressive PR and advertising campaign in press and TV (press releases, entertainment programs) and than, analysis of the response from campaigns
• Releasing form a distinctive position of vulnerability and dependency

The Third Month

• Preserving the obligation that could be achieved by adherence to high standards of truthfulness and disclosure
• PR and advertising campaign in local TV and press based on previous analysis
• The addition of a new service to an existing service
• Buying additional equipment and starting the use of scarce resources
• Fostering demand

The Forth Month

• Preserving the obligation that could be achieved by adherence to high standards of truthfulness and disclosure
• Adverting and promotion campaign in local press
• Analysis of the previous achievements (service improvement, financial benefits)
• Maximization of shareholders’ interests

Building Layout and Design

Historically, the Greeks had become attached to a life of pleasure, luxury, and sensual gratification. Building Layout will try to reflect traditional Greek architecture and designs. Traditionally, external appearances were at no time of any consideration in the houses of the Greeks, rendered domestic architecture a mere matter of routine.

The first object was to obtain comfort in the interior, and the second a rich decoration of the interior. Design layout will follow the finest of the houses in Pompeii. The houses were mostly of reeds or of stone, with thatched roofs, may have contained much that was beautiful and decorative. Special attributes of the Greek style are vases and columns. The building will be based on Ionic columns and style (Harris 92; Figure 2).

Each of the floors will have its unique design and style. In the top floor, the base is simply painted on a smooth surface; in this first style always of a lighter colour than the slabs immediately above it, from which it is very usually separated by a slight molding. The prevalent color of the base is yellow, with exceptions such as light-variegated marble. In it rectangular blocks with rebated borders rarely occur, and then chiefly where the wall is divided into compartments by actual pilasters or half-columns, as in the Basilica and in the two peristyles.

The upper wall above the cornice is rendered in various ways. Very often, especially in small rooms, the decoration entirely ceases and there follows only a surface covered with coarse white stucco sometimes broken up with windows, round which is a line of finer stucco.

The Club will be designed in another style. The method is to paint the smooth wall with different colors in large masses. The incrustation is continued above the cornice, and it will be possible to find rectangular slabs with rebated borders. These, however, though of different coolers, have a unity of effect through being identical in shape and having in common a border of uniform color, so that even here the wall culminating in the dental cornice has the appearance of a screen; above and beyond it the actual wall of the room is seen, which in some cases has a second cornice. This screen is in a way characterized as the external wall of a building resting on a solid base and crowned by the projecting cornice of an Ionic temple.

Main Floor is divided into large fields having an imposing structure in the center, resembling in form the shrine (sacrarium). On the top of this low wall could be painted masks, vases, and small panel pictures. The frieze of this low wall might be richly decorated with arabesques, interspersed with animals. The ornaments supposed to be executed in wood, metal, glass, gilding, reliefs in stucco, and pictures, were painted to convey the exact nature of the material.

The centre-piece compared to a shrine should contain a picture which reaches nearly to the top, where it leaves a view out into the open air. On the roof of the shrine stand two winged figures with hands raised as if supporting the epistyle which stretches from one corner pillar to the other, though that would be impossible in reality, as they stand considerably further forward than the epistyle may be added to the characteristics of the advanced stage of the second style.

Financial Planning

Understanding the financial dynamics of “MONO’ene’ is critical for achieving self-sustainability. Experience suggests that sponsors often get the numbers wrong, either by being overly optimistic or by making unrealistic assumptions. For example, they often underestimate the length of time and the amount of effort required to grow a new generation of successful companies.

Achieving financial self-sustainability can also be viewed as resolving the cash flow problem. “MONO’ene’ needs to get through the feasibility, start-up/ramp-up stages, when cash flow is typically negative, and achieve break-even.

Table 1: Discounted Cash Flow.

Table 2: Final Year Cash.

Table 3: P&L Account for the 1st Year.

Table 4: Cash Flow Statement.

A good forecast should specify the range of flexibility required to meet likely minima and maxima of customer demand. The business plan that flows from it must be flexible enough to meet the challenges of the entire range of possible outcomes. Capacities of all kinds, including supporting materials, skilled labor or plant and equipment must be effectively managed to permit cost-effective adaptation over the fullest range of possible sales results (Harris 21).

The main part of the budget will be spent on building design and product/service development. Thereby, both worker and equipment capacity are kept near full application merely by keeping the machine loaded to maximum capacity. But if service-supportive equipment must be utilized at significantly lower than normal, full capacity, as suggested above, labor hours are inevitably wasted by a strategy of using minimally skilled workers. It is expected to spend $700,000 on building design and product/service development and equipment. Advertising, promotion, and salaries will need $300, 000.

Sensitivity analysis. The appraisal of almost any investment project in the real world will involve the making of a great number of estimates. For example, the outlay required to undertake the project, its life, the annual cash inflows, and outflows it will generate, the scrap value it will have, and even the correct rate of discount to reduce the cash flows to present values. Estimates will be made for all these factors and the project will then be appraised by calculating an expected net present value.

If this NPV is positive then the appraisal is in favor of acceptance. But, in terms of downside risk, the decision maker is also interested in how sensitive the advice is to changes in the estimates made about the project. In other words, he is likely to be interested in the margin of error that there can be in the estimates made about the individual components of the project (i.e., outlay, life, etc.) before the advice that the appraisal gives (in this case to accept) becomes incorrect.

The advice to management is that the decision given by the NPV calculation s insensitive to changes in most of the estimated variables. However, if the revenues were the fall by 10% of their estimated value the original decision advice would turn out to be incorrect, Hence it may be worthwhile to re-examine the estimates of annual revenues to see if the company’s confidence in their accuracy can be improved.

Pricing

Many entrepreneurs want to base prices on their costs, thinking that costs should somehow determine the price of products, that is, price is a number times cost. Although direct costs determine minimum long-run prices (otherwise the firm is out of business), many other factors determine the actual selling price for a product or service, thus serving to determine value. Certainly, firm economic viability requires that long-run prices create revenues that are ultimately greater than total costs.

But, the only up-side barrier to price is the buyer’s willingness to pay [value]. Therefore, the key in determining price for a product would be the amount the buyer is prepared to pay under the specific conditions of sale. MONOebe will follow skimming pricing strategy in order to enter the market and attract potential buyers. Direct price comparisons cannot be made. Developers of vertical software frequently use this approach.

For certain products, if the bundle is complete, this system of pricing and delivery is referred to as a turn-key operation (Harris 63). When an entrepreneur manufacturing a new consumer good enters the market, the choice of a distribution channel is paramount and likely determines the required markups at the various channel locations. If the manufacturer sells directly to the consumer, although risk of the unknown still exists, a consumer’s normal risk is limited to the amount of the purchase price.

There are exceptions, as in the case of refrigerators, freezers, and some hard goods but for most consumer products, the cost of product failure is limited to the cost of the product. End-user prices are determined by prices of the existing products. Even if new channels and/or different retail outlets are utilized, prices are still tied, of course, to what consumers are willing to paying for the existing products (Harris 66-67).

Expansion/Franchise

A mid-size firm like MONOena will have great opportunities to expand its business in a year. Long-term cooperative contracts where one party is in control tend to exist under specific conditions. MONOena requires high-quality products and to ensure consistency it does not enter into contracts based only on best price for a batch: instead it builds long-term relations with selected suppliers. Franchising will help MONOena expand its activities and improve its brand image. MONOena will be able controls its exclusive sales channels and can sell its products at more competitive prices because there are fewer margins to be extracted.

The franchisees will find stores in appropriate locations, appoint managers, and provide funds, while MONOena provides knowledge of store layout and the branding of the store, recommends merchandising, point-of-sale, and information systems, and provides consulting services. The products of alliances need to be competitive and sought-after if they are to be sold worldwide (Harris 73).

Collaborations and alliances there may well be factors that remain undisclosed. Not all technologies are disclosed to partners and some knowledge will remain confidential. In today’s complex marketplace, a firm is often dependent on many suppliers to help serve its customers. Embracing these supply chain relationships for the greater good of the ultimate customer creates customer value that is hard for competitors to match.

Staff Selection and Structure

The Personnel Department will assume responsibility for recruiting, selecting, and employing. It also recommends personnel policies to the board (e.g., compensation, benefits, performance appraisal systems, and conflict-of-interest policies). This department may take the role of advocate, adviser, and supporter of the president and staff, and may conduct performance reviews of the president if the executive committee elects not to do so. In general, MONO’ene’ will employ 30 individuals including management staff, advertising, waiters, and cookers (Holbrook 87; Figure 1). The managers play three very important roles:

1. they provide personal and professional counseling on a short-term and a long-term basis,
2. they connect employees to other experts who provide on-the-spot or long-term counseling and to other resources the companies need but don’t have, and
3. they create an environment conducive to business.

As the practice of business evolves, it is becoming clear that one of the great challenges for managers is to custom-tailor assistance to meet the needs of each client company and determine the time frame within which the assistance will be provided.

Future Plans

Like entrepreneurs trying to grow companies, those responsible for programs must engage in periodic and systematic assessment, i.e., assess the brand’s strengths and weaknesses, how it is changing over time, and to what extent the needs of the client companies are being addressed. At minimum, the management needs to measure progress against plan or toward achievement of specific goals. Ideally, they will measure the achievements against a standard or benchmark. However, regardless of whether internal or external measures and standards are used, a best practices operations, programs, and services will be evaluated at regular intervals (Holbrook 54).

To improve efficiency of MONO’ene’ it will be important to:

1. expand to two locations after first year of operation, and two locations after the third year of operation;
2. to be viewed as a premium brand in the region;

It is expected that in half a year the revenue will increase in 10%, and in a year in 25% ensuring high service quality. This will allow MONO’ene’ to invest in innovative equipment, continuously improve service quality, and increase budget new locations (Silver 87).

Service Quality

Service quality will be a key factor of cusses for MONO’ene’. Best customers are competitor’s best prospects. This means MONO’ene’ must carefully guard customer relationships at all stages, but particularly those that MONO’ene’ is raised to repeat-customer status. The more advanced a customer is, the more profits she typically represents to MONO’ene’. In contrast, a strong preference combined with little perceived differentiation may lead to multi-product loyalty.

This is particularly true in fast-moving consumer food goods. Sometimes a consumer chooses Ragù spaghetti sauce; other times, Prego. Sometimes the choice is Coke; other times, Pepsi. The customer has a set of two or three favorites, and situational factors such as shelf positioning and in-store promotion drive a particular purchase. Customer databases are helping aggressive food companies win the competition (Silver 43).

At the heart of this two-pronged strategy is a CRM system that tracks users both on the Web and in the restaurants. As another means for driving customers to the Web, diners can have a digital picture shot among the posters and guitars and then find the picture online for download. First, customers are completing the online survey via the reference on the receipts.

Having a system to run on is important for building loyalty; procedures, guidelines, tracking systems, and communication materials are important tools that help the employee perform. But that’s just part of the equation. The real success of loyalty system is not just in having the right tools but in having those tools used by employees with a loyalty-driven attitude. A customer becomes loyal to a company and its products and services one step at a time.

By understanding the customer’s current loyalty stage, you can better determine what’s necessary to move that customer to the next level of loyalty. Our Profit Generator loyalty system comprises six stages: suspect, prospect, first-time customer, repeat customer, client, and advocate. If your customer relationship processes and programs are not moving customers forward, rethink them (Harris 65-66).

Legal Issues

At a minimum, MONO’ene’ must fulfill its legal responsibilities with respect to governance in order to maintain its corporate and/or tax status. MONO’ene’ should include at least one director capable of ensuring these responsibilities are met. MONO’ene’may be advised or required to retain outside legal counsel and/or an independent auditor. Similar concerns or responsibilities may be derived from requirements imposed as part of financing. If these responsibilities are handled appropriately, the board may avoid the considerable distractions that can result from non-compliance.

Works Cited

Crawford C., Benedetto, C. A. New Products Management. Irwin-McGraw Hill. 7th edition, 2003

Harris, T. Value-Added Public Relations: The Secret Weapon of Integrated Marketing. McGraw-Hill, 1998.

Holbrook, M. B. Lifestyle Marketing: Reaching the New American Consumer. Routledge, 1999.

Silver, D. Smart Start-Ups: How Entrepreneurs and Corporations Can Profit by Starting Online Communities. Wiley; 1 edition, 2007.

Introduction

The paper is a company analysis of JSC Katavsky Cement. This is an organization based in Russia. It was started in 1915 as a simple production center that later became a research entity in the sixties. In essence, the company prepares cement on commission. It also engages in the manufacture of chalk, fertilizer and clinker. Besides these, it carries out a range of services such as construction and mediation and processing for the Russian Federation.

JSC Cement is one of the most influential Cement companies in the region. In fact, it produced 2.6 million tons of cement in the year 2006. The company is on a path of continuous growth since it boosted production by 13% in 2006 and by 15.4% in 2007. In addition to these accomplishments, the organization boasts of a “Golden quality mark”, “All Russian brand” and the “100 best products of Russia” awards. In the latter awards, it garnered a laureate diploma as well a First Class Diploma.

Analysis of the JSC Katavsky’s internal environment

This internal environmental analysis will examine all the major company elements of JSC Katavsky Cement. These will include company policies, formal structures, organizational resources, managerial philosophies and managerial leadership styles. It should be noted that organizational cultures also form part of a firm’s internal environment, however, these will be examined separately in a subsequent portion of the essay.

Company policies

JSC Katavsky Cement has established a series of company policies designed to guide its managers while making both long-term and short-term decisions. One such policy is continuous improvement and innovation. Currently, the plant is planning an overall upgrade to boost production. The latter move is an indication that this cement manufacturer is always looking for ways of becoming more competitive.

Employees in this company also know that they ought to carry out their respective tasks and responsibilities in a socially responsible manner. Any activity that might put the lives of other persons in danger is strongly discouraged within this firm. One way in which they do this is through their certification system. All cement manufactured in this company is compared to a German standard in order to ensure that the end-user will be safe when utilizing it. On top of these, the JSC plant often updates its equipment in order to make sure that its employees are protected and that their consumers get what they are looking for. Given the fact that the company has received more than one award for its commodities, then this is proof that its company policies must be heading in the right direction.

It should be noted that as a cement manufacturer, there are some unique environmental conditions that are often faced by such companies. This corporation may have to minimize its emissions and make its working conditions more effective.

Its technical aspects are also lacking in that the company’s fuel and electricity usage must be monitored by the installation of a more effective system. The latter can be easily done through the use of an automated system.

Organizational structure

In JSC Katavsky Cement, there is some semblance of order when it comes to the arrangement of people and tasks so as to facilitate information flow, responsibility and decisions and decision-making abilities there. The breakdown of these hierarchies is often represented through an organizational chart and this chart can be found in Appendix 2 below.

As one analysis the latter company’s structure, some strengths can be detected quite easily. For instance, the presence of a formal organizational chart to represent its formal structures promotes communication between different stakeholders in the organization. When employees are not sure of formal lines of authority, then chances are that they may not know who to approach and this hampers communication lines completely. But since this company does not lack an organizational chart, then it has been spared from all the latter mentioned issues. Additionally, studies have shown that technologically centered organizations are best operated in hierarchical structures. The Cement manufacturer has therefore adopted a method that optimizes its returns in the market under consideration.

Company resources

JSC Katavsky Cement has numerous resources at its disposal i.e. its finances, supplies equipment, machinery, infrastructure, facilities and information. In this regard, the company’s policies are accomplished through these resources and they provide mechanisms for changing the organizational environment.

One of the most reliable methods of assessing an organization’s structures is through its financial position. Tables 1 and 2 in the Appendix section reflect how the company has been performing over the past few years. Its positive company returns indicate that it has been utilizing its resources properly. Additionally, production, marketing and distribution costs are all considered when setting prices of its commodities as seen in the table. The national average of cement is much lower than what is offered by the latter company. Consequently, it is safe to assert that since JSC cement has been in a position to offer such an affordable price, then it must be managing its resources quite properly.

Marketing is another important aspect of the company’s production process; this usually takes the form of demand and supply analysis alongside market analysis. One problem that can be easily detected in its marketing strategy is that the marketing team does not contribute towards its product and assortment policy yet they are in a unique position to do so.

JSC Katavsky uses some modern forms of marketing such as internet ads. Additionally, it engages in several exhibitions both within Russia and in other countries in its region such as Ukraine, Yugoslavia as well as Bulgaria. Using regional platforms is an effective strategy; however, there are still some areas that need improvement. First of all, because its products are prepared on commission, the company tends to neglect its advertising. In fact, its attempts can be characterized as weak efforts thus implying that it needs to step up its marketing endeavors.

JSC Katavsky Cement is yet to embrace another opportunity in Cement marketing. Most consumers within this sector come from the construction sector i.e. those who do industrial, civil, residential and house plant constructions. In the past, these have been the target consumers yet they do not represent all the groups that can purchase commodities from the firm. Other groups that can form an important part of this company’s consumer base are members of the civil engineering sector. JSC Cement should target the latter group in order to boost its consumer base.

One of the most valuable resources in any organization is its personnel. JSC Katavsky Cement has not fully utilized such a valuable resource. This is because the company lacks a reward system that would encourage its members to maximize their potential. What this means is that the company’s staff lacks initiative and drive as no efforts have been made by the company to stimulate their hard work. The latter can also be achieved through effective training and development programs.

In theory X of management, managers assume that their employees are incapable of making strategic decisions and that they need to be directed constantly. Theory Y on the other hand offers a radically different approach. Here, it is assumed their employees are well aware of their responsibilities and can therefore be granted decision-making powers. The managerial philosophy that has been adopted in the case study is a platform for self fulfillment in that it has affected employee behavior and harmony in the company. This Cement manufacturer has elements of both decentralized and centralized decision making. In other words, it has attempted to place some responsibilities among its employees while at the same time leaving a lot of authority in the hands of the company’s managerial staff. In this regard, it can be said that the Cement manufacturer tends to lean towards theory X than Y. More needs to be done to delegate authority in this corporation.

Leadership styles

Human resource experts describe empowerment as the process of delegating authority to one’s subordinates; such a process entails granting them skills, autonomy and freedom. JSC Katavsky Cement has not made the move towards encouraging active participation from members of its team. This is obstructing the company from operating at its optimal production rate. That aside quality issues can be greatly improved if the company’s leadership style reflects the concept of empowerment. It is likely that when employees are empowered, then they can respond to situations almost immediately as information need not pass down the organizational hierarchy. All these issues can be seen through better customer service, heightened creativity or innovation, lower costs and even greater commitment. JSC Cement is therefore missing out on all these positive aspects that other competitors are embracing.

Competitors

No internal environmental analysis is quite complete without looking at the competitive arena. JSC Oskoltsement is a force to reckon with in the Russian cement manufacturing sector. It is a relatively new firm with a lot of modern equipment. The latter aspects place it in a more competitive position because cement manufacture is best done with recent technology that has not undergone excessive wear and tear as is the case with Katavsky. This company is also a threat to the case study because it has recently introduced a Finnish packaging line designed to minimize wastage during calibration. While their quality may not have exceeded the case study’s levels, their production processes are much more effective (at a ratio of 1: 1.5). This gives the competitor an incentive to reduce their prices and therefore boosts their position.

Organizational culture at JSC Katavsky and how it impacts organizational performance

organizational culture within any organization refers to the system and policies applied there. It is usually depicted as the morals, customs and expectations of its members. In JSC Katavsky, there is an overall culture that reflects the social influences in the company and these have been shaped by the geographical setting of the plant’s premises – the latter depiction of culture is difficult to change.

Some basic elements guide the ‘personality’ of this company and they include;

• Social networks
• Rites and rituals
• Heroes
• Values

Values refer to those aspects that JSC Katavsky Cement cherishes in its employees. In this regard, the latter company cherishes productivity among its members. However, there is much that needs to be covered in terms of boosting aspects of the company’s management style. For instance, the company has several subcultures inherent in its various departments. Its line managers have different values and so do their senior managers as well as line employees. This often leads to conflicts between the various groups and eventually hampers effective productivity.

Since the firm was started in the early twentieth century, it can be difficult to call the company’s founder its hero because a hero must be someone who represents the company’s attitudes and values. In other words, the company needs to carry out positive efforts of identifying such a character and promoting him as someone to look up to among its staff members.

Rites and rituals entail all the ceremonies, routines and components that the firm values. Many companies often carry out annual meetings, awards, banquets and other ceremonies designed to inspire employees to work harder and some of the latter apply to JSC. This company normally carries out a general meeting for shareholders. While JSC Cement has carried out some rites and rituals, it is yet to fully exploit the potential that such activities can have in boosting their competitive advantage. Therefore, the company needs to embrace more forward-looking ideas that could enhance its organizational culture. For instance, the company needs to introduce general meetings that involve other members of the organization as everyone has an important perspective that they can bring to their discussions.

Social networking involves all informal communication that goes on in an organization. Such networks can sometimes be detrimental to an organization’s performance if they take the place of more sound concepts like merit and hard work. However, when kept at a minimum, it can be useful in motivating employees who may aspire to be like the heroes of their times.

The work environment within JSC Cement can reflect upon the kind of work culture that prevails within this organization. For instance, one can detect some negligence on the part of the company because of its dirty dining room. The company also rarely carries out renovations and other sorts of initiatives. Consequently, it can be said that there is still a lot that needs to be done in terms of making the work culture more positive for staff members.

In the Schein model of organizational culture, every company has several attributes. The first level is what can be observed by the outsider who judges culture through the furnishings, offices, visible awards among others. As it has been asserted earlier, these aspects are weak in JSC Katavsky Cement. The second level is composed of all the slogans, mission statements and values depicted through members’ behavior. As it has been seen earlier, the company needs to make these aspects more important in the day-to-day running of the company. Lastly, there is the deepest level of any organizational culture are the assumptions carried forward by different members. These can only be fully understood by deeply interacting and understanding members of an organization. The latter perspectives can be used to the advantage of the company if it embraces them during organizational change processes.

Combined analysis of the strengths and weaknesses

Conclusion

There are a number of strengths that stand out in the company analysis. First, the company has built a good reputation through its many years of production. Also, the quality of their products is very high thus explaining why it has received several awards. It has high volume outputs; this is why it is doing relatively well in financial markets.

Some of its major weaknesses include its lack of new cement manufacturing technologies, lack of cost-saving techniques, lack of environmental schemes and lack of effective personnel.

Executive Summary

The entertainment industry in the UK has been growing for the last decade or two. There are more people who are willing to perform and share their talents with the rest of their communities. It should be noted that technology and innovation have helped push this industry further. This is due to the ease of access to performances and other related activities. It is prudent to state that often, paid performances are done either in restaurants, bars, or events. However, this has not stopped people in the creative industry from performing in the streets. This applies especially to up-and-coming artists. Critically, professional stand-up comedy has been boosted by events that take place around the UK. The organizers have focused more on live special events that also bring in international artists. It can be argued that there is still plenty of activities that can be done to further the sub-section of stand-up comedy in the entertainment industry in the UK. This business plan proposes the use of Fun Times, a point-and-know mobile application that allows users to get information about stand-up comedy in London.

Business Details

Fun Times is a mobile application that is compatible with both Android and iPhones. The application focuses on giving the user all the information he or she needs in regards to stand-up comedy in the UK. It should be noted that the app will indicate the location, restaurant, or bar that the show will be taking place. Critically, the innovation will target consumers based on the provision of unique information about stand-up comedy. Apart from the data, the mobile app will also indicate local and international headliners to these shows. Further, there will be reviews of the restaurants and bars that will host the shows.

It can be debated that one of the key attractions of using the app is that users will also be able to wine and dine in some of the restaurants and bars. The beverages will be both alcoholic and non-alcoholic to cater for the needs of all the clients who visit the restaurant for purposes of entertainment. Further, the company will host various events in a bid to attract clients and further enhance the bottom line. For example, some of the events that will be hosted in the restaurants include wine-tasting events and specific activities that celebrate the cultures of the different foods that are all accompanied by stand-up comedy. It is expected that these parties will allow the public to interact better with the application as well. Richardson and Ariffin (2019) note that there are numerous reasons why consumers appreciate constant interaction with their preferred brands.

Mission

The mission of Fun Times is to prepare, inform, and educate the public about different stand-up comedy acts that are taking place in various restaurants and bars across London.

Vision

The company’s vision is to bring together people through quality stand-up comedy that celebrates the diverse nature of the society by incorporating comedy with food and beverage.

Aims and Objectives

The following are the aims and objectives of the business:

1. To provide a creative space where people can enjoy good stand-up comedy alongside their favorite cuisine and beverages among family and friends
2. To create a platform for young stand-up comedians to reach a wider audience by informing them of where and when they will be performing.

Location

The business will be located in London City. There are various reasons why the city has been selected. First, as Chaffey and Smith (2017) note, attracts an average of 45 million tourists per year. Although the application will target locals, it is important to put strategies in place to capture the international visitors. It is expected that some of the tourists will appreciate being able to enjoy other fun aspects of London such as its comedy coupled up with various traditional cuisines. Secondly, the target market that will be captured is contemporary urban. Angeloni et al. (2016) note that a significant percentage of the population in London falls under this description. Therefore, marketing becomes easier due to the large population that lives in the same area (Ezeanaka, 2020). Rahman, Yaacob, and Radzi (2016) argue that the location of a partnering restaurant is key for the success of the company. It is important to note especially in relation to real estate, which affects operating costs.

Market/Industry Analysis

Industry Size, Growth and Structure

Currently, the tourism and hospitality industry contributes to a large extent to the country’s economy. This is coupled by the fact that the country also has a significantly robust entertainment sector (Arnett, Goldfinch and Chinta, 2017). It should be noted that this premise refers to two main ideas. The first is that the two sectors complement each other and form one of the largest industries in the nation. Therefore, together, they hire a significant number of people. Secondly, it also means that the industry contributes significantly to the country’s GDP. It should be noted that at a local level, the tourism and hospitality industry attracts approximately 45 million tourists per year (Chaffey and Smith 2017). These tourists look for various activities that they can take part in during their stay. It can be argued that by providing information on stand-up comedy coupled with traditional cuisine and beverages, the application will be a much welcome innovation to the tourists. Therefore, all these tourists will be targeted by the company’s marketing strategy.

One can argue that the entertainment industry in the UK is expected to grow exponentially. At a macro level, it can be stated that a significant percentage of the world population is more open to spending money on things they enjoy doing (Sakhdari, Burgers and Davidsson, 2020; Greenlaw, Shapiro and Taylor, 2017). Apart from this, more people are travelling all over the world and are interested in seeing the different activities that make a society unique. The structure of Fun Times ensures that these people get information that is specifically tied to stand-up comedy. An added advantage is that these events will be in restaurants and bars where clients can also enjoy good meals and beverages. Further, the structure of the industry makes it easier for the sector to grow. This is due to the fact that there are numerous other sectors that are tied to the entertainment industry, as explained, including the tourism and hospitality industry. These mini sectors boost the entertainment sector, thereby, positively affecting Fun Times.

Industry and Market Trends

One market trend at a macro level is that more clients are looking for an authentic experience when they seek either fun or educational activities. The term experience refers to the entire consumer journey and not just the 30 minutes to one hour of comedy. Baker and Hart (2016) and (Almutlaq (2016) explain that brands have to fully understand how their consumer experience affects overall brand image in order to make the right decisions about their marketing plan. For example, in the case of Fun Times, it is important for management to understand how to fully capture the authentic London experiences on a daily basis vis-à-vis the individual entertainers that will be performing and their type of content. It can be argued that the only way this can be determined is through proper market research. At a local level, one common trend is using digital platforms to communicate with clients even when they are in other cities and countries (González, 2020). For example, in the hospitality sector, menus have been placed online so that clients can easily use a barcode to get their menus (Granados, 2019). The use of technology and innovation in such a manner has enhanced consumer experience.

Market Segments

It is critical to note that there are two main market segments that have to be considered. The first is of tourists who are visiting London. This market segment will mainly be targeted through digital platforms such as social media and websites that they visit. It is also important to note that this segment is also expected to boost the income of the company in certain months of the year. Additionally, these individuals will most likely prefer to dine in the partnering restaurant. The second market segment is of local Londoners who want to enjoy a good laugh. It can be argued that their buyer behavior will also entail good meals and beverages due to the hectic nature of moving around in the city.

SWOT Analysis

One key strength of the company is that it incorporates the use of technology and innovation to provide high-quality services. It is important to note that the company will use a mobile application and also partner with restaurants and bars to get the needed information directly to clients who need the same (Bailey and Warby, 2019). Although there are numerous entertainment companies that already do this, it is a strength for Fun Times as all have not partnered with restaurants to also include traditional cuisines and beverages.

On the same note, one of the weaknesses of Fun Times is that it depends fully on outside partners to make the entire project work. Although this ensures authenticity of the consumer experience, it also puts the company at risk. For instance, there might be instances where the stand-up comedian expected to perform does not show up. There is no way for the company to directly communicate with their users unless the same is also communicated to them prior to the event. The company has to consider signing contracts with all the entertainers who want their shows highlighted in the application (Singh and Jain, 2020).

Despite the stated weakness, the company has several opportunities that it can take advantage of. One such opportunity is the partnering with event organizers to host stand-up comedy events that are also highlighted in the application, not just the weekly and more regular shows. This will ensure that the users get access to good entertainment, while at the same time also ensuring that the event organizers have an easier time advertising their shows. It will also serve as an alternative source of income for the company as the advertisers will have to pay.

Lastly, Fun Times has one main threat. The global pandemic has opened up a new way of looking at some of the threats that a business might face. It is important to note that despite practicing proper hygiene, restaurants and the industry at large have suffered due to the lockdowns and similar closures. It is important for management to have an emergency strategy in place for times of crisis (Etemad, 2020). This will ensure that the business still survives any form of threat that it may face.

Value Proposition

It should be mentioned that at a macro level, the company will focus on the eating and drinking target market segment. This means that the company will first and foremost look for people who dine out as the highlighted skits will only be done in restaurants. This includes people who come to the restraint to eat, drink or both. One of the reasons why it is important to have people who prefer to dine outside is that they are a ready market and the application will be a value addition to their customer experience. Due to this, it is essential that the partnering restaurants also be of a certain standard that ensures more users rely on the application for the information needed.

Indeed, it can be argued that one of the reasons why clients will be attracted to Fun Times is the fact that it will offer all the information needed to have a good time watching a stand-up show, including location, pricing and reviews of the artist, and enjoy a good meal. It is expected that the artists will be categorized based on their experience to also allow the users make a choice on who they want to see perform. A second reason that will attract the clients to Fun Times is the affordability of the meals. The management will lower operational costs at all levels in order to lower the price of the meals.

It can be argued that the target market is looking for three main things. The first is information on where they can attend quality stand-up comedy while the second is the price of the shows. Lastly, they are looking for great places where they can enjoy the stand-up comedy. It is critical to note that all the needs of the users have to be considered in order to offer quality service (Gelens et al., 2014). This will form part of a precautionary strategy for partnering with events that might endanger the company’s public image.

Product/Service Description

As stated, the key products that will be offered are information about stand-up comedy skits in London. Indeed, there will be various comedy events that will also be featured and that through partnership, will provide more income to the company (Leal-Rodríguez and Sanchís-Pedregosa, 2019). It is important to note that there are several factors that will be used to enhance the company’s competitive edge. The first is the fact that the stand-up comedy skits will be tied to food and beverages as they will be happening in restaurants and bars.

It should be noted that the application will not hire or even manage any of the stand-up comedians. Further, it’s main source of income will be the purchase of the application by users. Critically, advertisers will also have to pay for advertising space within the application. This structure ensures that the company has low operating costs. Thirdly, one can argue that the high quality of service offered in the partnering restaurants will be a competitive edge (Aziz, Amlus and Jusoh, 2015). Staff have to be trained on proper consumer engagement to ensure they enhance consumer journeys (Johns, 2017). This will also ensure that customers feel that the app is not only genuine but also keen on ensuring they have a great time.

Unique Selling Point and Competitor Analysis

The entertainment industry in London is diverse and highly competitive. There are two main categories of competitors for Fun Times. The two are theatres and the restaurants and bars that also host comedy nights on their own. Despite the type of competitor, one can group several strengths and weaknesses that competitors in the industry have. One strength is that there are competitors who have been in the industry for years, therefore, have been able to develop their brands and interact more with the target market (Fetscherin, 2015). Du (2019) explains that one of the reasons why this is a strength is the fact that loyal clients will always just visit these spots regardless of what is happening elsewhere. A second strength is that a significant number of the competitors offer something other than food and beverage – other forms of entertainment such as music and poetry. This is especially true for restaurants and bars (Beugelsdijk, Kostova, and Roth, 2017). This is a critical strength as it adds value to what the competitors offer that Fun Times does not.

Despite the stated advantages, there are various weaknesses that can be grouped together and that offer Fun Times an opportunity to succeed in the industry. One such limitation is that there are few restaurants that have curved a niche for themselves. Indeed, as Schlegelmilch (2016) notes, a majority of the restaurants in the area do not have these extra activities. Therefore, it is easier for the management of Fun Times to reach out and partner with the restaurants It can be debated that by creating its own niche, Fun Times will be able to attract more clients that its competitors.

Operations Plan

It should be noted that the services will be delivered both through an online platform (digital) only. As mentioned previously, Fun Times is a mobile application that users can take advantage to know more about stand-up comedy acts in London. The company will also have a website. However, this will be purely for information about the company and will not work in similar fashion as the mobile application. The application will need a smartphone to allow for the point-and-look nature of the business. On the application, the user will see all the partnering restaurants that have stand-up comedy nights. They will also be able to see the fees to be paid, time, and even the menu that the partnering restaurant will have at the time. This last aspect adds value for the client.

One of the key operating activities for the company is the identification of partnering restaurants where the stand-up comedy acts will be performed. A second key operating activity is the designing of the mobile application. Indeed, whereas this is not directly related to stand-up comedy, the application has to be user friendly in order for the clients to be attracted to it (Jones and Spadafora, 2016). The design and look and feel of the application has to be right in order to ensure high user traffic.

It is important to note that there will be various partnerships that will be sought in an attempt to both stabilize and grow the business. One such partnership will be between the founder and the investors (Villanueva et al., 2020). The finance section of this business plan will clearly highlight why investors are required for the business venture to succeed. It is critical to note that there will also be partnerships for events, which will be an added competitive edge for the business. Additionally, as mentioned previously, there will be partnerships with restaurants and bars where the stand-up comedy acts happen.

Critically, there will be several business controls that will act for the benefit of the company. One such measure is set financial policies. These policies dictate how the finance department will be run, including when and how payments to suppliers will be made, how payments will be resolved, and payroll among other things. A second business control is the strategic plan that will guide the company’s activities. It can be stated that all control measures will be pegged on the strategic plan as it is the ultimate business guide. Each department will also be expected to have its own measures that positively impact on quality, consumer satisfaction and the bottom line.

Interestingly, the company will also be guided by intellectual property (IP) law. Due to the fact that the artists will be presenting their work, the company has to fully understand what IP law means and how it affects the business. Critically, IP law also protects the mobile application itself. No one can copy the design, look, and feel of the product. As mentioned, the participating restaurants will also be serving meals and beverages that they have either bought or developed themselves. All these are protected by IP law (Stimpson and Smith, 2015). This is especially true if the restaurants used traditional knowledge for the same.

Further, it should be noted that one of the reasons why the business has been suggested is its scalability. Pride and Ferrell (2015) explain that a business that can be scaled past its initial target market is more likely to also attract more clients than others. The premise suggests that business owners always know the scalability score of their franchises before the business begins (Henry, Rockström and Stern, 2020). This can be deemed true for Fun Times. It is expected that the company will be able to expand its core businesses within the first three years of operation. It is expected that the initial expansions will target major cities in the UK before then going to smaller towns. Further, it is expected that the brand will become international after approximately five years of operations.

Sales and Marketing Strategy

The marketing department will advertise using both traditional and digital approaches. It is important to note that the digital approach will be the main advertising platform due to the fact that it is more affordable (Lu, Shi and Huang, 2018; Yoo-Nah, Kim, and Youn, 2018). The menu price will be aligned to the industry standard and will range from $10 to $40 per show. Additionally, the restaurants will determine the rate for their meals and beverages. It should be noted that the service will be distributed in purely in digital form. This is through the Fun Times mobile application.

The launch strategy will revolve around heavy social media campaigns and TV and radio advertisements. There will be various sales tactics like discounts, getting a glass of wine, and so forth for the users. The brand development of the business will be determined first by engaging with the clients to get feedback and then incorporating the same to ensure that the brand is perceived well in the market (Latapi, Jóhannsdóttir and Davídsdóttir, 2019). Further, in order to avoid a reactive pattern in regards to competitors, the management will analyze each situation individually before taking action. Overall, it is believed that there is significant growth potential for the company. This is tied to the fact that there is a need for fast and reliable information on fun activities in their areas. It is expected that the expansion of the business will go hand in hand with demand for the quality entertainment joints as well.

Finance and Funding Plans

It should be noted that the business will require a start-up capital of approximately $150,000. It is expected that the founder will contribute $50,000 into the venture. A maximum of two investors will be sought and offered equity in exchange of funding the business. The offer will not exceed 49% equity, thereby, ensuring that the founder is the majority owner of the company. In the event that the investors cannot be secured, a loan will be taken from the bank. Due to this, the company will be average geared with the debt to equity ratio being average. Critically, equity investors will be given an option to sell their shares after five years of the business being in operation. The offer to sell shares will first be made to the partners through the Board before other stakeholders are invited to purchase. It should be noted that in the first year of trading, the management will focus on using marketing activities to make the mobile app visible within the market. This also touches on pricing strategy due to the fact that the amount of money people spend to buy the app should be more than enough to help the business record profits but significantly less to ensure its affordable to the target audience (Shaw, 2020). The below section of the business plan contains the financial projections.

Table 1: Total Assets in Percentage

Table 2: Financial Projects for Year 1 of Operations

Risk and Contingency Plans

One critical risk that can be identified is failure to receive the required funding to start the business. It is important to note that, as mentioned, the primary plan is to get an investor to fund the business. This reduces the pressure of repaying back a loan as the investor/s will get share equity of the business. A second possible risk is failure to capture the market using the agreed-upon strategies. This can happen in case the market research done was not comprehensive enough. In order to be successful, the management has to ensure that all risks are monitored and mitigated. The first risk mentioned, lack of funds, can be monitored before the business is up and running. It is important for the management to stick to the prepared budget as it has been synchronized with the marketing activities that will enhance visibility. In case an investor is not found, the management will take out a loan as a plan B.

In order to ensure all the risks are being monitored and also mitigated, it is essential that the management also understands the critical success factors for the business. One such factor is the first business milestone, which is the design and launching of the application. This is a success factor as it will also mean that funding for the business was acquired. A second success factor is a 70% user engagement by the end of the first year of operation. One strategic option that will help the business become successful is the flexibility of the marketing and corporate strategies. This will ensure that the company can change approaches in order to achieve their goals and objectives.

Management Team

The management team will be led by the CEO, who is also the founder of the business. Other staff in the team will include the Finance Director, Director – Operations, Director – Partnerships, and the Marketing Director. The CEO will be tasked with driving the company’s strategic direction. Further, the Finance Director will be in charge of the money element of the business ensuring that this resource is properly utilised. This senior staff member will work with both the Operations and Partnerships directors to price Fun Times’s products and ensure profitability. The Operations and Partnerships Directors will manage their respective areas ensuring quality of service as per the company’s mission statement. They will also lead their teams to ensure proper consumer experiences. On the other hand, the Marketing Director will be tasked with making such the public knows about the application. Further, he or she will come up with strategies to attract and retain clients.

The organizational structure will be hierarchical in nature although leadership style will be flexible. All the Directors will report to the CEO, who will report to the Board. This will be made up of strategic individuals whose expertise will be needed to ensure success of the company. The Board will act as strategic advisers and will also hold the CEO accountable. There will be a minimum of 5 staff in the operations department, 3 in the partnerships department, 4 in the marketing department, and 2 in the finance office. It is important to note that all employees will be hired on merit basis. However, it is expected that the staff members will need skills training frequently in order to serve the clients better.

Reference List

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Introduction

Express Scripts, Inc. is a pharmacy benefit management (PBM) company which offers drug plan management services mainly to government agencies, unions and corporations. Around April, 2010, Express Scripts was for the first time ranked by both Forbes magazine and Fortune, among the top five hundred companies in the United States. Moreover, the company also managed to be featured in the Forbes Platinum List where it was among twenty five companies which have, “Platinum Profiles” a great fete for a company that has been slowly, but surely growing to become a force to reckon with. We aim to find out how it incorporated its information systems and internet technology into its business processes so as to make these great achievements.

The important business processes of Express Scripts, Inc

Like most companies, Express Scripts has management, operational and supporting processes as its core business processes. All are important, but with respect to information systems, its supporting processes are the most important because they provide essential backing for the other core processes. Express Scripts have an advanced technical support team and have even gone to great lengths to offer resources such as PDFs on “Tips for Using the Express Scripts Call Center and website” to clients and customers. Given the dynamic nature of technology, this has been very instrumental in the company’s operations and ultimately has a positive impact on its output.

Express Scripts’ business strategies

This company has used various business strategies that have seen its profitability rise almost exponentially. For instance, its acquisition strategy, which was founded on cross-selling whereby companies’ own contracts with drug stores were converted to contracts that those drug stores now have with Express Scripts. This ultimately brought down the clients’ cost of pharmaceutical programs thus giving the clients additional value. Further, their internet strategy entails marketing their services and delivering core services to their clients via the internet thus enhancing convenience.

Information systems that give Express Scripts competitive advantage

The actions that are taken to create an information system that solves an organizational problem are called system development (Laudon & Laudon, 2009). Express Scripts has heavily invested in information technology aimed at supporting its future profitability and growth. This resourcefulness is accounted for as capitalized software ranging from data warehouses (which enable effective communication with all parties involved in the prescription process), to e-Business initiatives which saw instantaneous benefits by virtue of increasing their connectivity to their clients, prescribing physicians and also their members. Express Script also enjoys competitive advantage by being among the first to introduce a mobile application which conveniently facilitates order refills, finding a pharmacy, etc. Electronic communication is the modern way of communication that includes electronics and latest technology for communicating such as teleconferencing e-mail, etc. (Bovee & Thill, 2009).

References

1. Bovee, C. L., & Thill, J. V. (2009). Business Communication Today. Ontario, ON: Pearson Education Canada.
2. Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (2009). Essentials of management information systems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Redefining the Emirates Group

New Mission

• Providing comfortable and safe transportations;
• Establishing customer satisfaction as the top priority;
• Introducing the principles of cooperation and information sharing between the company’s affiliates.

New Vision

• Expansion into the global economy and worldwide market;
• Acquisition and mergers as the company’s key policy;
• Increasing the number of customers and the quality of services

Goals and Objectives

The key goal for the Emirates Group for 2014 is increasing the number of customers by 50% by 2015. the subsequent goal is raising customers’ awareness concerning the Emirates Group benefits.

• Improving the audit system in order to attain better quality of services;
• Expanding into the global market;
• Increasing the quality of services provided during the flight;
• Changing the leadership style to a mix of a transformational and a laissez-faire one (Chaundry & Javed 2012, p. 259);
• Bringing the number of costs down in order to spend more on promotion campaign.

Means to Achieve Goals and Objectives

• reconsidering the leadership strategy;
• creating a promotion campaign.

Current issue: corporate governance model.

Solution: transformational (motivation) and laissez-faire (independence) LS. leadership styles.

• Costs can be reduced by cutting the amount spent on inbound and outbound logistics;
• Expansion will be successful once becoming partners with several influential U.S. and European airlines;
• Mergers can be carried out by acquiring minor UAE companies providing flight related services.

Emirates Group Chances Evaluation

SWOT

• Strengths: technological assets, quality services, skilled staff.
• Weaknesses: high prices.
• Opportunities: global expansion.
• Threats: failure due to tough competition (Iran Air, Iran Aseman Airlines).

PEST

• Political: global expansion.
• Economic: providing pricing options.
• Social: addressing business people and families (middle and upper class).
• Technological: efficient use of advanced technology for updating customers and providing quality services.

Efficient Leadership as the key tool

Transformational

• Reinventing employees’ perception of work;
• Enhancing employees’ motivation;
• Managing conflicts efficiently;
• Being flexible towards he changes within the target market.

Laissez-faire

• Allowing the leaders of the affiliates to make local decisions;
• Using audits as the key tool for checking services quality;
• Making the leaders of the affiliates send monthly reports on the company’s performance.

Business Portfolio Design

• Mentioning the company’s progress over the course of its existence (particularly 2000 – 2014).
• Mentioning the number of aircrafts handled in 2014 (264,950, a 4.5% increase (Financial annual report 2013, p. 66).
• Mentioning productivity (132, men hours per aircraft (Complete annual report 2013, p. 60)).

Note: after the introduction of laissez-faire principles, the company’s affiliates leaders will have the right to come up with their portfolio choices.

Marketing Issues in Emirates Group

Issue

• Lack of awareness about Emirates Group’s advantages among the target customers;
• High competition rates within the target market;
• High costs may avert customers despite increase in service quality

Solution

• Creating a promotion campaign that will help raise awareness and advertise the company’s services;
• Better information management must be used to forestall the rivals;
• During promotion, the emphasis must be on the increase in quality.

Promotion Campaign Design

Target audience:

• Potential customers;
• Investors and sponsors;
• Companies for mergers and acquisitions;
• Business partners (suppliers, limited partners, general partners, etc.).

Putting emphasis on quality (technology, customer support, comfort and high speed).

Stressing that high price defines outstanding quality.

Mentioning flexibility of the pricing policy (B-class transportation, discounts, etc.).

Listing key services (passenger/cargo transportation).

Marketing Strategy and Competition

Key rivals for Emirates Group:

• Air India, Ltd.;
• Iran Air;
• Iran Aseman Airlines.

Key strengths of the rivals:

• 8,000,000 passengers/year (Iran Air (Iran Air 2014, para. 1));
• quality staff training (Iran Aseman Airlines 2014, para. 1).

Key weaknesses of the rivals:

• Weak leadership;
• Local influence.

Marketing strategy:

• Putting emphasis on safety, comfort (e.g., cushions, smoke alarm, etc.) and fast travel;
• Listing additional options for customers (free meals, e-booking, etc.);
• Mentioning flexible pricing policy and pricing options , including discounts;
• Stressing the company’s intentions concerning expansion.

Putting Technological Advances to Use

• Creating the opportunity for customers to check in via the cell phone;
• Providing Internet-based applications for helping the customers keep the track of the company’s information (flights, tickets available, pricing, etc.);
• Using the aforementioned applications to keep the clients updated on the company’s news;
• Giving customers the option to unsubscribe.

Reference List

Chaundry, A Q & Javed, H 2012, ‘Impact of transactional and laissez faire leadership style on motivation,’ International Journal of Business and Social Science, vol. 3, no. 7, pp. 258-264.

Complete annual report 2013. Web.

Financial annual report 2013. Web.

Iran Air 2014, Iran Air, 40 years of history, 55 years of experience. Web.

Iran Aseman Airlines 2014, Safety. Web.

Companies must adapt to markets that are rapidly changing under the effects of globalization. In the late twentieth century, firms fully embraced the value of innovations as a source of competitive advantage. However, a path toward a successful product launch is unique for each company and its desired markets. ETA’s Swatch is a European watch brand that, under a new managing director’s leadership, reimagined the approach to accessible and appealing products at that time. This paper will review ETA’s business-level strategy and how the actions of Ernst Thomke turned this company into a globally renowned watchmaker.

Gaining a competitive advantage is a challenging task for companies that cannot predict market fluctuations and their customers’ preferences. The article depicts Thomke as a forward-looking managing director who pushed the company toward innovations that won the company a spot in the global market for watches. He began ETA’s transformation by setting goals yet to be attained by any other company in the world and then pushed the border of possibilities further. Anticipating other firms’ actions allows one to avoid staying behind an industry’s leaders (Stein & Stein, 2018). Thomke understood the steps that his firm needed to take to create a profitable product. He directed ETA’s engineers toward that vision through smart goal-setting that promoted innovation and creativity (Thomson & Baden-Fuller, 2010). As Thomke pursued a massive reduction of manufacturing costs, the first part of ETA’s strategy was focused on low-cost mass production.

Understanding the genuine value that a product holds for its customers is the core of a firm’s proper competitive placement. Thomke realized that people wear their watches for reasons similar to fashion trends: to stand out and to show others their unique style (Thomson & Baden-Fuller, 2010). Product line extensions became one of the primary ways to enter a new market. Swatch utilized this strategy as a means to engage customers from the United States, Asia, and Europe in its seasonal design swap that followed the path of the latest fashion trends (Thomson & Baden-Fuller, 2010). Starting in the U.S., Swatch has launched its marketing campaigns and gradually expanded them to other markets. The initial product tests are paramount, as they help companies outline the initial market risk and adapt their manufacturing lines to fit into the expected sales count (Stein & Stein, 2018). The second part of ETA’s strategy in revolutionizing its Swatch brand was to differentiate products to fit into a new trend for highly customized looks.

In conclusion, ETA was able to create a sustainable path for economic growth through Swatch products that captivated the attention of millions of people across the globe. Thomke’s decisions show a genuine understanding of the core concepts on which a firm’s competitive advantage is built. ETA’s business-level strategy focused on low-cost products that were able to remain in style for generations through continuously updated designs. The success of this firm lies in Thomke’s future-oriented view on wristwatches that are both stylish and affordable.

References

Stein, A. D., & Stein, L. (2018). The value frontier: An introduction to competitive business strategies. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. Thomson, N., & Baden-Fuller, C. (2010). Basic strategy in context: European text and cases. John Wiley & Sons.

Introduction

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is a unique destination for tourists over and beyond the Hajj Pilgrimage season. With 6366 heritage sites and antiquities, the Kingdom is every cultural and historical tourist’s dream. Unfortunately, most potential tourists to the region are yet to know of the unique attractions that the country has. The strict government regulations that barred foreigners from accessing Saudi Arabia are partly to blame for the underutilised tourism potential of the kingdom.

In the past, Visa issuance was a selective process with only foreigners attending the Hajj and other Islamic tours being granted the Visas. Foreign direct investments in the tourism sector especially in Hajj and Umrah related tours were completely barred. In the recent past however, the KSA government has started opening up the country for non-Muslim tourists.

Although the government is still taking a cautious approach towards people who try to gain entry into the Kingdom, recent events such as the issuance of Visas indicate that the KSA government is slowly opening up the country. This paper will model an e-business service that is intended to act as a gateway of information and service provision to tourists. The service will be in form of an online tour agency, whose main platform will be a website.

Business Strategy

The scope of the business

The Online tour agency will be modelled according to Ionica’s definition of the tour and travel agencies. Ionica (154) defines such agencies as intermediaries between tourism services consumers and the providers of tourism products and services.

Hence, the proposed tours and travel agency will tap into the local and international market targeting the existing information and service provision gap that existing brick and mortar tour firms in KSA are yet to fill. By making e-business its main platform, the proposed company will enable potential tourists who are in distant locations to arrange their travel to KSA without having to make expensive long-distance calls to the firm, or having to deal with third-party tour agents who are in their countries of origin.

According to (Euromonitor International), one of the most prominent problems that visitors to KSA face is the lack of fast and reliable tour services. This is made worse by the fact local tour firms that have websites rarely reply to emails or online instant messages sent to them by clients. While KSA is not lacking in tour companies, most of them are in brick and mortar offices and most of them focus on Hajj and other form of religious tourism (Euromonitor International).

Additionally, Euromonitor International found out that most tour firms in KSA lack an online booking and payment system. The proposed tour firm will seek to fill these gaps by providing potential clients with as much information as they may need in regard to tourist destinations in the country, and will also facilitate online booking and payments.

In addition to the recreational tourism sector interested in visiting KSA outside the Hajj and Umrah seasons, the tour firm will also target attaining a market share from business travellers. According to a country report published in part by (Euromonitor International), there is a great potential in business tourism especially considering the number of inbound business people who travel to KSA at the corporate level. Such travellers are always on the look out for companies that understand their needs, and would therefore be willing to engage the services offered by the proposed tour and travel agency.

Overall, the proposed agency will package itself as a subcontractor working between product and service suppliers in the tourism industry, and the tourists. By narrowing its business focus to being a subcontractor, the tour and travel agency will fit in Ionica’s description of how such agencies operate. In the definition, it is stated that such agencies neither have stocks in major tourism service providing firms, nor do they engage in the production of the main tourism services; rather, they act as the main coordinators between tourists and the tourist service providers such as airlines and hotels (Ionica 155).

To enhance its brand presence in the KSA, the proposed tours and travel agency will create a brick-and-mortar office. However, the physical office will not be used as a location where clients can book or order services. Rather, it will be used to host the Agency employees who will be in charge facilitating the electronic processes of the business. The decision to have a brick and mortar office is also informed by Porter’s arguments, which indicate that internet technologies should be used to complement traditional ways of doing business, rather than being substitutes of the same (Porter 63).

The workflow for the tour agency for non-religious package tours to KSA will include the following steps all done on an online set-up:

1. Yesser will contact service providers (airlines, hotels, travel companies, and travel destinations) to familiarise itself with available or upcoming tourism opportunities. Based on such knowledge, the Agency will then prepare the preliminary viable tour.
2. Yesser will then make reservations with identified service providers and make any applicable down payments
3. Next, the Agency will prepare a tour schedule, which will be sent to service suppliers for confirmation. After confirmation, Yesser will then declare the charges for the tour.
4. The tour program will then be sent to Yesser’s branches abroad where the non-religious tourist markets are located. Such locations include Europe, Asia, and the US.
5. Marketing of the tour packages will then commence in the respective markets until a specified date. However, considering that Saudi’s tourism market admits only a limited number at one time, marketing may be halted whenever the tour packages are sold out.
6. When the tour package sales are complete, the list of tourists will be emailed to service providers and their reservations confirmed.

Notably, the e-business strategy is a dynamic concept that involves rethinking and even redesigning some business processes (Ionica 155). Hence, the above workflow may change whenever there is a need to amend some of its aspects.

Yesser Tours and Travel Agency (hereunder Yesser or the Agency) is a Saudi term meaning “made easy” or “simplified”. The term was chosen for use because it reflects one of the core objectives of the company, which is to make customers the central focus of the agency by providing them with easy, fast and reliable tours and travel booking solutions.

Objectives

These objectives by Yesser are intended to strategically position the firm in the KSA’s tourism sector. Specifically, the objectives will identify distinctive value chains for the agency, and trade-offs between Yesser and tourism service providers. By so doing, Yesser will probably have continuity in its corporate direction, hence ensuring that the Agency will have long-term returns on its investment.

• To be the number one tour company in KSA with special focus on necessitating online booking and payments for our clients
• Facilitate fast, easy and convenient travel for local and international inbound tourists
• Establish an online booking system where visitors can ‘shop around’ for desired services, and pay for them online.
• Avoid overhead costs that usually make tours and travel expensive for consumers
• Partner with tourism service suppliers to provide clients with easy access to information regarding travel destinations in KSA.

Market Analysis: Current and Future Needs in KSA’s Tour and Travel Industry

The current situation of the travel industry in KSA

In a 2006 document released by the Library of Congress, it was revealed that the non-hajj tourism potential in KSA is greatly untapped (Library of Congress 13). Notably however, the KSA government had realized the need to tap in the tourism sector to boost its non-oil revenues. To accomplish its target, the KSA government through the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT) started implementing changes that would present the non-Muslim tourists with attractive tour experiences.

To begin with, the government started issuing tourist visas to non-Muslims and even went ahead and allowed tour companies to conduct group tours to various destinations in the kingdom. Another step towards opening up KSA to non-Muslim tourists was initiated by SCT, when it started rating all hotels in the country in 2006 (Library of Congress 13).

Other initiatives undertaken by SCT between 2006 and 2010 include developing hotels and other facilities in viable tourist destinations, funding the construction of hotels in rural areas, encouraging cultural and historical tourism, and enhancing the licensing procedures for tourist companies (Library of Congress 13). Another vital step that SCT has taken includes the expansion of education facilities to train an increased number of tourist professionals.

Current and future needs

The most persistent need in KSA’s tourism industry, especially in relation to the non-Muslim tourists is the lack of information. The proposed e-business service therefore hopes to fill this gap by researching and publishing detailed information about Saudi Arabia and the tourist destinations therein. To succeed however, the tour firm whose proposed name is Yesser Tour Company will need to be approved by the Saudi government, like all other tour companies operating in KSA have.

Considering that the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia is greatly misunderstood by international tourists and strictly regulated by the Saudi government, there is a great need for tour companies and other stakeholders to provide relevant information especially concerning the country’s history, religion, culture, and social behaviours.

The preconception that many potential visitors have about Saudi Arabia also needs to be reconstructed. As (Verde) notes, most tourists would be wary of touring KSA destinations, because of the link that is created regarding Islam and terrorism. In his own admission, (Verde) states that just like many Westerners who had been socialised to believe that Saudis were cold, distant, haughty, conservative and grim people, he was surprised to find a totally different reality on the ground. The proposed e-business will therefore contain dedicated web pages, whose sole aim will be to demystify the Saudi society through informing potential tourists of the Saudi culture, and the cultural sensitivities that people have.

The lack of tourist services that conform to non-Muslim traditions is also an issue that stakeholders in the KSA’s tourism industry have to address. In the past, the highest numbers of inbound tourists were pilgrims attending either the Hajj, or other religious-related tours such as Umrah. Consequently, most service providers in the tourism and hospitality industry have fine-tuned their services to address the needs of such pilgrims, and as a result, the niche market segment, which is made up of non-Muslim tourists seems to be neglected.

Market size

Although there is no accurate way of quantifying the market size targeted by Yesser, a rough estimation indicates that international tourists interested in historical and cultural tourism in KSA are in the thousands. Statistics for the 1994 non-Islamic tourist arrivals indicates that there were 1727 tourist in KSA.

At that time, the Kingdom had just opened up its non-Muslim tourism sector and all visits were made in groups. In recent years however, the popularity of KSA as a cultural and eco tourist destination has increased. Hence, more people are interested and could indeed visit the kingdom. The market size is however limited by the visa regulations imposed by the KSA government.

Statistics by the (Oxford Business Group 119) displayed in figure 1 below however indicate that if all things remain the same, the market size that Yesser should target is less that 49 percent. This is because religious tourism remains the dominant type of travel to KSA. Notably, foreign investors are barred from investing in religious tourism. In the market segments, the largest potential market for Yesser is in the business travel segment, which represents 19 percent of all inbound tourists. Leisure shopping and the ‘others’ segments are also potential markets for Yesser.

Growth

According to the (Oxford Business Group 119), the Saudi tourism market is in its infancy. Hence, there is a great potential for growth. As a matter of fact, the Saudi government projects a 3.1% annual growth in inbound non-religious tourism. The growth will be aided by government initiatives such as the development tourist facilities in identified destinations. One such destination is the Red Sea, which the KSA targets for improvement through the ‘Red Sea Tourism Development Strategy’.

According to the (Oxford Business Group 119), the KSA government aims at attracting “$40 billion of investment” to the Red Sea region from both domestic and foreign investors. Limiting the growth of Saudi’s mass tourism capacity if the government’s decision to restrict access to the kingdom. Hence, while growth of the sector is assured, its pace is left entirely to government dictates.

Competitors

Yesser’s competitors are mainly found as brick and motor travel agencies. Fortunately, the KSA has a strict approval system which makes it hard for new market entrants to penetrate the market. Specifically, any tour agency must gain government approval (Paul and Rimmwawi 503)

SWOT Analysis

Strengths:

• Yesser’s e-business strategy will endear it to consumers who have always found it hard to access non-religious tour operators in KSA
• The agency ease of access and operations will enhance consumer experience thus attracting tourism consumers
• Yesser is among few other travel agencies targeting the non-religious tourism sector. Hence, competition in its target market is low
• Entry barriers are high, and this means that competition in Yesser’s target market will remain relatively low.

Weaknesses:

• Government regulations have restricted mass tourism to the kingdom to the very bare minimum (Sadi and Henderson 98; Seddon 11). Hence, the potential in the market remains underutilised
• Individual travel in the non-religious sector is restricted, and Yesser will thus have to market the tour packages to groups

Opportunities:

• Yesser can partner with tour operators in key tourism source markets such as Europe and United States to organise for group tours to the Kingdom
• The E-business model makes establishing contacts, and providing information a fast and easy process, hence meaning that Yesser can setup and develop its business network in a short time.
• The regulated nature of the KSA tourism market has sparked curiosity among tourists who will embrace the chance to visit the kingdom wholeheartedly.
• The expansion of shopping malls in major cities as documented by (Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities 5) presents Yesser will likely expand shopping tourism sector, which Yesser can take advantage of.

Threats:

• Yesser will probably face challenges especially in visa-related cases, during the Hajj season when the influx of religious tourist is at its peak.
• Cultural clashes are likely to occur and such may increase the negative perceptions that some people have on Saudi Arabia and vice versa. Burns for example observes that some international tourists have never understood why the Saudi culture insists on keeping women’s faces covered. Hence, some may ignorantly chose to disobey such cultural aspects. Consequently, Saudis may perceive such disregard of their culture as an affront to their religion (Burns 231).

Yesser’s Competitive Advantage

According to Porter (Cited by Dess, Lumpkin and Marilyn 12), there are five factors that a company can use to determine its competitive advantage in a given market. The factors are:

• Buyers’ bargaining powers: In Yesser’s case, the bargaining power of buyers is low considering that Yesser will be operating in a niche market. The restricted access to the non-religious tourism market, and the
• Threat of substitutes: The e-business model adopted by Yesser makes it a unique case in the tourism market to Saudi Arabia, especially considering that most travel agencies have physical offices either in oversee locations or in Saudi Arabia. Hence, Yesser does not face any significant threat from substitute service providers especially in the short term.
• Supplier’s bargaining power: Yesser will have to rely on suppliers for the provision of tourism related services. As an intermediary between the client tourists and the service providers, Yesser will have to rely hugely on the goodwill and assurances of quality from service providers such as airlines, hotels and restaurants, and transport firm. Knowing the kind of leverage they have in Yesser’s business, such service providers will have relatively high bargaining powers. The only reprieve for Yesser is found in the fact that competition in the tourism and hospitality industry in KSA is slowly heating up. As such, one would expect that there will be more airlines, hotels and transport companies willing to give Yesser good deals in the future.
• Competitive rivalry: According to (Kirby 3), there is only a handful other travel agencies targeting the non-religious tourism market in KSA. Although there are no official statistics regarding their adoption of e-business, a search on Google using targeted keywords such as ‘online booking to Saudi Arabia’ and others, did not return any results indicating that existing tour agencies have adopted e-business. Hence, one could argue that although Yesser will probably face significant competition from its brick and motor rivals, such competition will not be significant enough as to threaten Yesser’s operations in the Saudi market.
• Threat of new competition: the threat of new competition for Yesser is relatively low in the KSA market especially considering the prevailing entry barriers that make setting up mass tourism-related business a painstaking task.

Setting up Yesser Tours and Travel Agency in KSA

Setting up a new business in Saudi Arabia is relatively a difficult task especially for foreigners. In Yesser’s case, the investor(s) needs to justify their interest in the tourism sector, and they must also prove how they are going to stay away of the Hajj and Umrah tourism sectors, which are barred from foreign investors. The applicant (Yesser) will have to approach the Saudi Arabian General investment Authority (SAGIA) with the investment application request.

SAGIA is “responsible for proposing and implementing policies to promote foreign investment in Saudi Arabia and for issuing licenses, visas, residence permits and other related papers to foreign investors” (Al Swalem Consulting Group 2). The investor should preferably acquire a work permit, although a visitor visa is also acceptable to make their entry into KSA legal. The investor should also prove that they possess “work-related abilities or educational qualifications as required by state” (The Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg 23). Copies of following documents should be attached to the application form:

• The Manager’s passport
• Residence permit
• Labour card
• Lease contract issued to the Agency
• The approval decision by SAGIA

On receiving the application, the directorate of companies makes another application to the Minister of Commerce, who then provides a decision on whether to approve the Company. If it is approved, the directorate of Companies order the commercial registration office to enter Yesser’s name into its register. At this point, Yesser’s manager would be required to visit the registration to fill the required form and pay the applicable fee, hence marking the end of the registration process.

Seeking regulatory approval in KSA

To start with, Yesser will have to submit a business application to the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA). To qualify for consideration however, the agency will need to prove that it intends to invest mot less than 2 million Saudi Riyals, which is the minimal investment amount that foreign firms are legally allowed to invest in the kingdom. The company will also need to write and send an operations application to the “General Directorate of Companies”, in which case a copy of Yesser’s articles of association will be needed.

Additionally, the agency must provide proof that it is commercially registered, and if Yesser is a partnership business, resolution made by the partners to establish the business in Saudi Arabia must also be provided to the Directorate of companies. All documents availed to the directorate of companies should be certified, and translated into Arabic (The Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg 24)

Marketing strategy – marketing mix

The Marketing strategy for Yesser Tours and Travel Agency will be pegged on the e-business concept. According to Andam, e-business is “the transformation of an organisation’s processes to deliver additional customer value through the application of technologies, philosophies and computing paradigm of the new economy” (Andam 7).

Wang and Cheung, on the other hand, broadly define e-business as the “innovative business mode involving delivery of products/services, exchange of data/information, and financial payments through the internet between the focal firm and its customers, suppliers, and other business partners” (Wang and Cheung 1). Following the two definitions by Andam, and Wang and Cheung, Yesser will seek to do the following in relation to the marketing mix:

• Product: To enhance consumer satisfaction, Yesser will link with suppliers of tour services in KSA in order to provide tourists with complete tour packages. Such service providers include airlines, hotels and the transport companies. As a catalyst between tourist and the service providers, Yesser will have an opportunity to earn commissions and discounts from the service provision firms it contacts. The e-business concept will facilitate fast and convenient booking and procurement of services, and payment processes. To deliver good services to consumers, Yesser will develop a virtual market place through a high quality website that is flexible, informative, and easy to navigate.
• Price: Establishing links with key service providers in the tourism and hospitality industry will enable Yesser to have some considerable bargaining power. It is thus possible that the tour company will be able to get good discounts, some of which it can pass to its clients hence giving it a price advantage over other tour companies. Even where the price advantage is not possible, clients may still want to conduct business with Yesser based on its differentiation strategy, which is the virtual provision of tour-related services. Theory of consumer behaviour indicates that while some consumers may be sensitive to prices, others are more interested in the perceived value of a product or service (Phan 583). As such, Yesser may still have a significant market share especially from the business tourism segment. Such consumers would be willing to pay high prices as long as they perceive the value proposition of the e-business as worthwhile. The transparency in pricing on the electronic platform will also probably give tourism consumers the impression of fairness. Such is contrary to the quotations made by the brick-and-mortar tour companies whose pricing may change to favour some.
• Promotion: Yesser will use the e-business platform to advertise its tour packages over the internet. To this end, the company will develop a mailing list, which it will use to inform its existing and potential customer of any promotions or discounts. Additionally, Yesser will use key-word rich articles in its WebPages in order to enhance its chances of appearing on search engine searches whenever clients are looking for information about KSA’s tourism industry. The company will also negotiate a complimentary formula with other service providers in the tourism and hospitality industry, whereby the partner organisations can advertise in each other’s websites. For example, the Yesser’s website can host adverts for a partner airline, a partner transport company and a partner hotel. In return, the Yesser advert would appear in websites hosted by the three entities hence increasing the tour company’s exposure to a wide range of potential clients.
• Place/distribution: electronic applications, mainly represented in the Yesser website will allow for the publication of tourism-related information. With the possibility of different potential tourists having access to the information through the internet, Yesser will be in a good position to make its services known to potential clients. E-business also makes mass customisation of tour packages possible. Tourists can specify their preferred tour packages, and based on that Yesser would organise with the tour providers for the provision of the same. Traditionally, such customised products could involve prolonged communication via telephone between the customers, the tour company and the service providers such as hotels, airlines and the transport companies (Phan 584).

Key People in Yesser Tours and Travel Agency

• The managing director: The MD in Yesser will responsible for the management oversight in the company. Additionally, the MD will be responsible to gathering industry intelligence and advising other stakeholders on the ideal future management strategies. The management decision-making prerogative will be squarely on the MD, thus meaning that he will have a major role in directing the agency in future.
• Director of operations: the main operations for Yesser will be tour-related. Hence the director of operations will be in charge of arranging tour packages that meet customer requirements. To effectively discharge duties in the position, the DO will need to work closely with tourism service providers. The DO will also be charged with ensuring that the e-business processes are running as they should. Hence, he will work closely with employees in the IT department in order to ensure that the Yesser website is current, secure, easy to navigate and resourceful.
• Operations assistant: will be responsible for the administration work at the Saudi based office. The OA will also liaise with tour service providers in KSA to ensure that all bookings are reserved. The OA’s job will also involve communicating with tour service providers in order to identify good offers that may be included in tour packages. The OA will need to ensure that an IT specialist is always on standby to ensure that any problems that may occur on the Agency’s website are resolved fast and efficiently. Additionally, he will be responsible for ensuring employees are always on duty ready to answer to any instant messages or emails that consumers send via the Yesser website.

Premises and Equipment Needs

The brick and mortar office for Yesser will be in Riyadh. The office will have a front office area, and two large office rooms for the staff and a medium–sized boardroom. According to statistics released by Jones Lang Lasalle (9), such an office would cost approximately SAR 1,075. Office furnishings will include ten chairs and 7 computer desks for the two separate offices.

Five desktop computers will also be purchased for use in the office, while another four laptop computers will be bought for the operations assistant, the MD and the director of operations. The portability of the latter will enable the three key people in the company as identified elsewhere in this report to keep close tabs on what is happening on the website. The budget for the premises and equipment is contained in Table 1.

Table 1: Estimated budget for office space and Office furniture.

Registering a domain name in Saudi Arabia is a procedural process that must abide by the regulations provided by Saudi Network Information Centre (SaudiNIC). To start with the applicant needs to sign a sign up for an account with SaudiNIc (Figure 2). Next, the applicant needs to conduct a name search with SaudiNIC to determine if indeed their preferred domain name is available for use. The third step involves setting up the servers that will host the domain name, while the fourth step involves filling a registration form provided by SaudiNIC. Yesser will have the option of either filling the form online, or downloading it and taking a hard copy to SaudiNIC.

The fifth step will involve submitting legal documents to SaudiNIC, while the final step involves following up with the government body in order to ensure that the domain name is activated. Usually, one needs to wait for at least three working days before commencing the follow-up. (Al Swalem Consulting Group) recommends that any business that does not receive a response regarding the domain name registration within ten working days should lodge a complaint with SaudiNIC.

Yesser will employ an in-house web-designer, who will be responsible for designing, maintaining, and upgrading the website on a needs basis. The web designer will also be in charge and ensuring that the website is easy to navigate, and easy to use. He will also update the contents of the website whenever the need to do so arises.

Funding

Yesser can access funding from sources such as the Saudi Credit and Saving Bank, the Public Investment Funds, the Centennial Fund, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, or the Human Resources Development Fund. To qualify for funding however, Yesser would need to prepare a convincing business proposal for presentation to the financial firms.

Evaluation Mechanism for Yesser

To determine whether the e-business strategy is working or not, Yesser will regularly audit its performance. Specifically, the company will check the documented number of tourists it had sold tour packages to in a given time in order to determine its effectiveness in the same period.

Yesser could also compare its performance with other brick and mortar tour agencies in KSA. According to (Al-Otaibi and Al-Zahrani 6), the main goals of e-business are to automate or digitize business, reduce costs and raise productivity.” Hence, Yesser can develop mechanisms that will gauge whether the digitized business aspects are saving the agency any costs or raising its productivity especially when compared to brick and mortar firms targeting the same market segment as Yesser.

For equity’s sake, such tour firms will need to be targeting the same non-religious tourism segment as Yesser. Some of the pointers that Yesser will use in order to determine the effectiveness of the e-business model include the ease of communication both in the office, and with either the clients or with the tourism service providers. The Agency will also establish a system that documents the number of clients reaches at any given moment through its online content. An internal survey will also be conducted among employees in order to gauge their preference or lack thereof of the e-business strategy.

Conclusion

The adoption of e-business strategy by new firms such as Yesser has multiple advantages. However, such business can only succeed if they are founded on solid market intelligence. True to (Porter 63) observation, e-business and other forms of electronic dealings rely on human input for them to succeed. Consequently, sufficient strategic thinking and planning need to occur before the same can be implemented or executed through the electronic platform.

In Yesser’s case, the combination of industry intelligence as contained in the market analysis section and the SWOT analysis is enough reason to believe that if the e-business is well implemented, then the tours and travel agency will have an advantage over its competitors who are yet to embrace the e-business concept.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill is an iconic international American restaurant founded in Denver, Colorado, by businessman Steve Ells. The restaurant’s performance is primarily related to its capacity to provide fresh, fast-food supplies. This changed when a string of food-borne illness outbreaks drove customers away from Chipotle’s chains. In august 2015, 64 customers became ill from a salmonella incident in Minnesota after dining at Chipotle Mexican Grill, which the government’s health department traced to adulterated tomatoes (Thompson, 2018). Simultaneously, 80 consumers and 18 staffers of the Chipotle restaurant chain in Southern California experienced stomach problems, including purging, and dysentery, which were associated with norovirus by health practitioners (Thompson, 2018). The staff members who tested positive for the infection were the prime suspects of contamination.

The constant outbreak of food-borne infections at various restaurant locations contributed to customers losing confidence in the Chipotle brand. For instance, in October 2015, 55 customers at 11 Chipotle restaurants, mainly in the Seattle, Oregon, Washington, and Portland regions, contracted the food-borne illness (Thompson, 2018). Health officials linked the infections to a strain of E. coli bacteria frequently linked to food contamination. This scenario leads to customers challenging the restaurant’s moral integrity and trustworthiness. The continuous opening and closing of the Chipotle restaurant chains indicated a failure to curb the gap of eradicating the issue, which deterred customers from returning.

I am confident that the current approach will increase customers’ trust as they start an initiative to improve food safety. The initiatives compose of food safety and quality assurance programs. D.N.A. – based testing of the cooking supplies before being delivered to the restaurant to assess their safety and quality (Thompson, 2018). Granting paid sick leave to staff minimizes the motivation for operating while sick. Improving the hygiene, product safety, and food handling procedures across all chain restaurants. Enhancing control procedures for food safety by using hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) monitoring systems and working on a solution to ensure that the corporation complies with all relevant federal and provincial food safety requirements.

Taco Bell is one of the main competitors of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the fast-food industry. Taco Bell has recently overtaken Chipotle Mexican Grill in the eatery sector due to its improving meal quality and lower price and investing a lot in advertising its meal recipes resulting in an overall sales increase (Thompson, 2018). However, Chipotle’s industry-leading competitive strengths include customer acquisition and corporate governance. Chipotle’s customers’ acquisitions result from their high-quality food prepared from locally obtained supplies and the high demand for Mexican meals. Chipotle corporate governance has been acknowledged as crucial in generating investment and facilitating adequate market finance.

My suggestions for Chipotle are to reestablish customer confidence and recover its reputation as a trailblazer in the fast-food business by taking the issue personally and establishing the business goals. A sensible initial approach is to admit that the business messed up publicly, take accountability, and explain the strategy to safeguard customers moving forward. The next move is to inform consumers of updated policies and practices to protect them. A further critical aspect would lessen the chance of another instance of improper sanitation and demonstrate to clients the severity of the business treating this issue. It could not be simple for Chipotle to grasp what it implies to establish a culture of safety and quality assurance. Employees, procedure, conduct, and enthusiasm are the foundation of safety practices.

Chipotle has a strategy to restore its brand since it knows customers no longer trust it. In order to improve customer experiences, the business will concentrate on operational adjustments, digitalization, and restaurant upgrades. The primary operational adjustment is training and personnel management to enhance hospitality and the quality and speed of customer service. Reducing area manager numbers enables them to stay at every restaurant for an extended time. This would have an immediate and long-term influence on the restaurant staff. Chipotle might increase the speed upon which requests are processed by investing in digitalization as sales growth from online ordering increases. The business may decide to invest money in upgrading the furnishings to offer more appealing dining spaces, additional ordering alternatives, enhanced beverage presentations, and an enhanced wireless purchasing environment.

Reference

Thompson, A. (2018). Case 12 Chipotle Mexican Grill’s strategy in 2018: Will the new C.E.O. be able to rebuild customer trust and revive sales growth? 10627_293556925_Chipotle_Mexican_Grill_4225136475172755.pdf – Final PDF to printer CASE 12 Chipotle Mexican Grill’s Strategy in 2018: Will the New C.E.O. | Course Hero. Web.