No Title Page Required…
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This case focuses on the difference between a business that produces a standard good (and uses standard costing) and on that produces custom goods and uses job costing. Although numbers are included in this case, they are their to help illustrate the effect of changing the system.Your options for this case are:
•Keep the existing system
•Change to a standard costing system
•Use a hybrid form of costing that utilizes both standard and job costing features.
There are many correct answers to this case; however, all involve giving specific examples to justify which accounting method you prefer.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Bennett Body Company
In the accounting literature, cost accumulation methods and inventory valuation methods are often called cost accounting systems. Even so, these techniques are just elements of a system or subsystem (Kaplan, 2011). Basing on the provided case, this paper describes the most appropriate accounting system for Bennett Body Company. The paper highlights that the hybrid system is the most suitable.
The most appropriate option for Bennett Body Company entails the use of a hybrid form of costing in which both job costing and standard costing features are employed. A hybrid costing system is particularly important when the manufacturing company handles batches of products in lots and charges the cost of materials to those lots, similar to how it occurs in a job costing environment, whilst increasing overhead and labour costs at the work centre or departmental level and assigning these costs at the individual unit level, similar to how it occurs in a process costing environment (Jinga et al., 2010).
In essence, hybrid costing system is often utilized in situations in which there is identical processing of a baseline product, and individual modifications which are made beyond baseline processing level. Nita (2014) pointed out that hybrid systems are employed in cases in which more than a single method of cost accumulation is needed. In some situations, for instance, standard costing method is utilized for direct materials whereas job costing technique is employed for conversion costs, that is, factory overhead and direct labour. In some other situations, job costing method may be employed for direct materials whereas standard costing method is utilized for conversion costs (Kaplan, 2011). The different operations or departments in the company may necessitate dissimilar methods of cost accumulation. As such, hybrid cost accumulation techniques are at times called operational costing methods.
Hybrid costing system is appropriate for Bennett Body Company since the company manufactures custom truck bodies and some customers would at times re-order the exact duplicate of a truck body that was ordered previously, although some modifications cause changes in design and therefore in cost. Hybrid costing system is also relevant for Bennett Body Company since the company manufactures identical products, that is truck bodies, until they get to a particular stage in which some modifications are made in order to make the truck body custom. Basically, manufacturing each of the truck bodies requires the same processing, although different amounts of material. The company can utilize a job costing system in assigning differing quantities of materials to each truck body, whilst employing the standard costing method in allocating the cost of overhead and labour equally across each of the truck bodies produced (Nita, 2014).
A hybrid of job costing and standard costing is useful in situations in which there is a common production process which applies to several batches but where the materials content varies from one batch to another one. Having a hybrid accounting system is better than having either a strict job costing system or a strict standard costing system. A standard costing system is essentially a predetermined estimate of what it should cost or is anticipated to cost to produce a single unit of a given product (Kaplan, 2011). With the hybrid system, standard costing and job costing would be employed. With standard costing, every production cost would be applied or charged to the inventory with the use of predetermined or standard prices, and quantities. The differences between the actual costs and applied costs would be charged to variance accounts. The variances basically offer the foundation for the notion of accounting control. With job costing, the costs would be accumulated by lots, contracts, orders or jobs. The main thing is that the work would be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the client. Therefore, every job may be inclined to be different (Sandretto, 2012).
It is worth mentioning that the main issue in selecting to utilize a hybrid accounting system is whether some elements of the manufacturing process are more easily accounted for under a dissimilar system than the system which is utilized by the majority of the production operation (Jinga et al., 2010). A lot of business organizations are actually not aware that they are utilizing a hybrid costing system – in essence, they have just adapted their cost accounting systems to their business model’s operational requirements. When employing a hybrid cost accounting system, a consideration is the added cost of employing 2 dissimilar cost tracking systems instead of just one cost tracking concept for all operations. Nita (2014) reported that a hybrid system should only be utilized if the resultant information is very different from what would have been obtained from making use of a single costing system.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Bennett Body Company should employ a hybrid of job costing system and standard costing system. Therefore, the accounting system will have features of both job costing system and standard costing system. Hybrid costing system is relevant for Bennett Body Company given that the firm manufactures identical products – truck bodies – until they get to a particular stage in which some changes are made so as to make the truck body custom-made to the customer.
References
Jinga, G., Dumitru, M., Dumitrana, M., & Vulpoi, M. (2010). Accounting systems for cost management used in the Romanian economic entities. Accounting & Management Information Systems / Contabilitate Si Informatica De Gestiune, 9(2), 242-267.
Kaplan, R. S. (2011). Accounting Lag: The Obsolescence of Cost Accounting Systems. California Management Review, 28(2), 174-199.
Nita, C. G. (2014). Management accounting and control systems. Management Intercultural, 16(2), 257-262.
Sandretto, M. J. (2012). What kind of cost system do you need?. Harvard Business Review, 63(1), 110-118.
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Types of PT Provided Client Related Consultation Order Instructions: types of PT provided client-related consultation
Project description
Option B: Research a type of PT provided client-related consultation.
Types of PT Provided Client Related Consultation
Submit a 2-3 page paper on the consultation activity, including but not limited to how a PT would get involved in the activity, expertise required to serve as a consultant for that activity, who would seek out the consultant’s services, reimbursement for consultative services, any legal considerations, or risk related factors.
Note: Consultation is not patient care, teaching, or management. All PT’s provide patient-related consultation. Client- Related consultation is when a PT has expertise in a particular area and provides expert opinion regarding situations that do not directly involve patient care. Examples of client-related consultation include: Ergonomic workplace assessment, Rules and Regulations compliance, ADA compliance recommendations, Court Testimony as an expert witness, Development of clinical or academic programs, Insurance claim reviewer, etc,.
write a paper about client-related consultation activities that a PT might engage in. Your paper should include the type of consultative activity, how a PT would get involved in the activity, education or expertise required to serve as a consultant for that activity, reimbursement for consultative services (if any), and any legal or risk related factors related to consultation work in that area. The emphasis of the paper should be on the role of a PT as a consultant. For example, the paper should not be about ergonomics, but about how a PT would serve as an ergonomic consultant.
Types of PT Provided Client Related Consultation Sample Answer
Job site analysis refers to the process utilized in the determination and identification of requirements and duties of a particular job into details. The JSA will effectively provide the relative importance of the particular duties of the specific job (Burns & Decker, 2012). The importance of the job site analysis is the establishment and the documentation of the employment-related procedures such as compensation, training and also performance appraisal. Job site analysis will also be identified as the task or work assessment conducted by the physical therapist. The analysis will entail identification of the vital duties of a job and also the key abilities and skills required for the completion of these tasks (Burns & Decker, 2012). The physical therapist will be an effective consultant when it comes to the matter concerning job site analysis. The physical therapist will offer consultancy through the combination of various techniques reviewing the task description, reviewing of the objective measurement of forces and also the observation of the job in a certain situation.
The physical therapist needs to be involved in the job site analysis to offer efficient information during consultations (Nazmi, 2015). It is the role of the PT to provide adequate information concerning the job specifications and requirements such as complexity, frequency, standards and durations that are key during the performance of tasks. The physical therapist will involve in analyzing the job site for the worker techniques employed, workers behaviors, causes of fatigue among employees and also ergonomic factors. The PT will offer consultancy information e.g. on the development of a plan based on the health administration and occupational safety (Nazmi, 2015). The PT will actively be involved in the creation of a detailed report to demonstrate the corrective recommendations and the observed risks identified by adopting certain criteria in the performance of tasks. The PT will provide recommendations on ways to increase efficiencies, safety for the high productivity of a business (De vries et al, 2014).
There are various requirements for physical therapists to work as consultants when it comes to the field of job site analysis. The physical therapist needs to have completed and the undergraduate degree in the related field of interest. In this case, the PT should be conversant with the matter concerning the best working environment required for the smooth operations at the workplace (De vries et al, 2014). The physical therapist should be able to collaborate and work closely with others to carry out effective that will lead to the offering of the best solution for a particular business during consultancy. The physical therapist should be an expert when it comes to solving problems by recommending viable solutions in case there is identifications of problems after the job site analysis is complete (Nazmi, 2015). The PT should pass the National Physical Therapy exams to earn accreditation by the agency for the physical therapy programs and also the license. The physical therapists are reimbursed inform of salaries or money charged per analysis. The money offered in term of salaries is paid by the business firms or individuals receiving the job site analysis services. Bonuses offered an appreciation for the exemplary services and provision of solutions is also used for the reimbursement of the physical therapists as consultants in the job site analysis(Burns & Decker,2012). The PT should adhere to the laws and legal requirements set by the agency when carrying out the job site analysis activities. The exploitation and provision of substandard services that without licenses might lead to the nullification of the efforts and achievements the consultant (Nazmi, 2015).
There are risks related factors when the PT works as a consultant in the field of job site analysis. The work environment may be unpleasant with conditions such as temperature extremes, radioactive substances and also the noxious fumes. Aggressive or hostile people and also the dangerous explosives pose many risks to the PT as consultants in the Jobsite analysis.
Types of PT Provided Client Related Consultation References
Burns, J. K., & Decker, R. D. (2012). U.S. Patent Application 13/402,343.
de Vries, C., Hagenaars, L., Kiers, H., & Schmitt, M. (2014). The physical therapist–a professional profile.
Write a final paper that clearly applies economic analysis on a specific way that would significantly improve health care. Also discuss how it would affect access, quality and cost. Please apply healthcare economics concepts that you have learned.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Healthcare Economics
The healthcare sector encounters challenges that hinder provision of services to clients. Economics approaches come in handy in solving certain challenges. Often, systematic economic considerations and evaluations of problems help institutions maximize care delivery to their customers. Usually, healthcare organizations apply economic theories regarding, producers, consumers, as well as the society when handling financial problems. Economic theories allow organizations to adequately understand the tendencies of their customers, service providers, competitors, regulators, and generally, business environment (Wels, 2014). Information of this nature is usually crucial in decision-making processes. This paper analyzes an appropriate economic way that would significantly better health care. Particularly, the paper addresses how such a way would solve problems associated with care accessibility, quality, as well as cost. The paper also aims at applying critical economic concepts when analyzing the described strategy.
Strategy to Improve Healthcare
For healthcare systems to realize improvements, they should efficiently handle their specific problems. Such problems include economic hindrances such as inadequacy of resources and staff, market failure stiff competition, and unfavorable economic environments. Usually, economic hardships hinder efficacy of service delivery to customers, and they may worsen when not solved in time. They hinder care affordability, accessibility, and they may also impair its maintenance to high standards. Stakeholders should address challenges from their sources for them to completely overcome them. For example, there may be a need to modify certain regulations such as those guiding the provision of health insurance. Economic analysis of healthcare sectors should particularly enable stakeholders to inform relevant authorities such as local and state governments on appropriate courses of their regulations. The approach would include effective definitions of health packages, programs, benefits and others financial concerns. Economic approaches would also offer reliable research findings that would be the basis for allocation of resources to different schemes and departments in healthcare. The strategy should involve parties directly associated with the presenting challenges such as policy regulators and health care managements.
Effective Strategy and Improvement of Cost, Quality, and Accessibility of Care
Effective strategies that would lower the cost of healthcare should address existing issues associated with high prices of care. It would facilitate the understanding of stakeholders about drivers of the cost of care. There are numerous determinants influencing the cost of health and efficient strategies should enable the identification of specific factors. Again, strategies should inform how these drivers raise the cost of care, and also, why different determinants cause their specific alterations on the cost of care. Usually, regulatory agencies would play centrally in implementing effective approaches of managing healthcare costs. For instance, while insurance policies are meant to lessen healthcare costs for individuals, poor economic considerations could impair their effectiveness and accomplishment of primary objectives. For instance, overwhelming costs of care would economically drain the public through premiums. In addition, people would suffer losses through out-of-pocket expenditure in acquiring services to supplement their health needs. Other critical issues whose inclusion in economic strategic plans would improve healthcare costs include expenditure on prescription medications and management of preventable diseases (Health Care Service Corporation, 2015). In addressing costs associated with prescription medicines, important factors include price fluctuations, demand for specific types of medicines, and their appropriate use by prescribers and patients. An efficient strategy would also lower the cost of healthcare by promoting practices that protect people from diseases. Some diseases are expensive to treat yet measures of their prevention are cheap (Kottke & Isham, 2010, p. 73). For instance, an economically sustainable strategy would include public education on health and cost consequences of behavioral practices such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and inappropriate dieting. Adoption of recommendations by the public would see to the reduction of cases of cost-intensive diseases, and it would eventually minimize financial straining associated with high treatment cost.
Care quality is also a crucial consideration for planners. Provision of high-quality health services saves costs in the long-run. An efficient economic strategy would address factors that contribute to poor-quality in healthcare. For instance, it would address issues such as medication errors which do not just compromise patient safety, but also cost institutions significant financial losses. It would be important to establish sources of errors and set up strategies to avoid them. In most cases, errors could be drug-related, operative, procedure-based, or diagnostic and so on. Avoiding errors would make care less wasteful and economically sustainable. So as to handle quality concerns effectively, institutions should budget for quality services including accurate diagnostic techniques, adherence to standard procedures, and enhancement of the skills of their professionals. Generally, institutions should proactively promote patient safety so as offer high-quality care that remains economically viable. In the US, several reputable hospitals go as far as establishing departments charged primarily with advocating for patient safety (Andel, Davidow, Hollnader, & Moreno, 2015, p. 46).
Issues associated with care inaccessibility include inadequacy of medical facilities, services such as emergency care, drugs, as well as insufficient general and specialized staff. In addition, there are hindrances such as poor infrastructure, cultural and social restrictions, and importantly, financial constraints. Stakeholders in healthcare should address specific hindrances to care accessibility. For instance, they should prioritize on staffing hospitals, equipping them adequately, and enabling them to offer services of varied nature. Effective strategies should also address accessibility from the perspective of customers. For instance, the society may discourage adolescents to seek sexual health (Chandra-Mouli, McCarraher, Phillips, Williamson, & Hainsworth, 2014, p. 115). To overcome such limitations, healthcare stakeholders may budget for educational programs for communities.
References
Andel, C., Davidow, S., Hollnader, M., & Moreno, D. (2015). The economics of health care quality and medical errors. Journal of Health Care Finance, 39(1), 31-48.
Chandra-Mouli, V., McCarraher, D. R., Phillips, S. J., Williamson, N. E., & Hainsworth, G. (2014). Contraception for adolescents in low and middle income countries: needs, barriers, and access. Reproductive Health, 11(1), 112-123.
Health Care Service Corporation. (2015). Economics of health care. Retrieved from http://www.hcsc.com/pdf/economics_health_care2.pdf
Kottke, T. E. & Isham, G. J. (2010). Measuring health care access and quality to improve health in populations. Prev Chronic Dis, 7(4), 73.
Wels, S. (2014). What is health economics? Retrieved from http://www.jhsph.edu/departments/international-health/global-health-masters-degrees/master-of-health-science-in-health-economics/what-is-health-economics.html
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Do not include title page…thank you
I will attach the reading to the email
Here are the questions you need to answer for this case:
•Calculate the variable costs per thousand bottles for one-separation rounds, two-separation rounds, and two-separation ovals, assuming that all ovals are printed on the machine with the automatic feature for ovals.
•Do one set of calculations for the Albany area (scrap included) and another for New York–New Jersey (freight included, but not scrap).
•Only do one bottle size (the smallest) and assume the average order size is 10,000 bottles.
•Prepare a suggested price list for the Albany area. Consider only one-separation rounds and two-separation rounds or ovals, for only the smallest size bottle.
As a guide to completing this case you should consider the following questions:
•How did Mr. Lipman’s goal of a 30 percent margin (at capacity) affect your price recommendations?
•Which products should the company attempt to sell in New York–New Jersey? Explain.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Lipman Bottle Company Case Study
Summary
Lipman Bottle Company is located in Albany, New York and specializes in the distribution of bottles. The company operates in varied bottle sizes as well as printing, but printing is its main source of profits. The vive president of Lipman Bottle Company, Robert Lipman, aims to achieve a 30 (thirty) per cent revenue margin as well as expansion of their business in New York, New Jersey area. Hence, he requested for our services to carryout their costing information and product line review and provide suggestions on how they can increase company’s profitability as well as making a price list for their business which is located in the Albany area.
Analysis:
The calculations are carried out in order to find variable costs that the company incurs per thousand bottles distributed for several combinations. The Albany area’s variable costs, where scrap is included are summarized in Table 1 shown below. Also the New York, New Jersey area’s variable costs, where shipping costs with exception of freight costs are included is summarized in Table 2 shown below. In addition, data for 0-1 oz. and 1732 oz. bottle sizes are analyzed, as well as 5,000-9,999 and 100,000-249,999 order quantity ranges. Full details as well as calculations are presented in Exhibits #1 to 8, while the price list for the business which is located in the Albany area is presented in Exhibit #9 and calculations to determine the greatest profitability potential for New York, New Jersey area is presented in Exhibit #10.
Table 1: Variable costs for the Albany area
Table 2: Variable costs for the New York, New Jersey area
The goal of Mr. Lipman to attain 30 per cent revenue margin is illustrated in the calculations shown in Exhibit #9 presenting the break even, which implies that no loss or gain, the 30 per cent profit margin, and subsequently the calculation of price to enable the attainment of Mr. Lipman’s wanted margin of revenue. We subtracted the 30 per cent of obtained revenues; and the break even illustrated the remaining 70 per cent of the obtained revenues. As a result, we used the equation shown below:
Variable cost + Fixed cost/ Total machine-hours ($106,944/16,000 hrs) = Break even
Total price (Revenues) x (1-30 per cent) = Break even
Therefore, the prices that are suggested which were determined after calculations are presented in Exhibit #9. Through the price determination calculations, we found that the cost of 2 rounds separation was about two times more compared to cost 1 round separation. Through the price determination calculations it was also found that increases in bottle sizes was directly proportional to increases in cost (meaning bottle size increases were accompanied by cost increases) but order sizes were inversely proportional to cost (meaning the higher the size of an order the lower the cost).
In order to make a decision on the products that are likely to sell in the New York, New Jersey area, the first step involved looking at the shipping costs and the gross margin. To accomplish this, assumption that, Mr. Lipman was also interested in the extension of the 30 per cent margin on revenue into this business area was made. At first glance, a major difference was not noted as a result of the shipping costs difference between smaller bottles and bigger bottles since per truck load the difference was only $2.42. Subsequently, we also considered the number of truck loads that the company could be shipping alongside computation of the gross margin as shown in Exhibit #10. Through the calculations presented in Exhibit #10, we found that the bigger the 2 Round Separations and the bottle size resulted in the greatest potential for profitability for the New York, New Jersey area.
Exhibit #1
Exhibit #2
Exhibit #3
Exhibit #4
Exhibit #5
Exhibit #6
Exhibit #7
Exhibit #8
Exhibit #9
Exhibit #10
*Setup time / Median order size * 1,000
**Hours per 1,000 bottles + Run time / 1,000 bottles
***Total time / 1,000 bottles * Variable cost per machine hours (14.63)
References
Farris, P. W., Bendle, N. T., Pfeifer, P. E., & Reibstein, D. J. (2010). Marketing Metrics: The Definitive Guide to Measuring Marketing Performance. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Garrison, R. H., Noreen, E. W., & Brewer, P. C. (2009). Managerial Accounting, (13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
McEachern, W. (2012). Economics: A Contemporary Introduction. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Schwartz, R. (2010). Micro Markets: A Market Structure Approach to Microeconomic Analysis. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
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Technical Report
The aim of the report is to give the reader an adequate account of the work carried out, as concisely as possible and in a manner which would allow the
reader to repeat the work satisfactorily. Adequate use should be made of references to relevant literature in support of claims and theories and when
referring to results of earlier studies by other workers where appropriate. Text should be written in the past tense and in the third person.
The report should be divided into the following sections:
Acknowledgements:
This should consist of a few words of thanks and appreciation to those who helped the student throughout the period over which the work was carried out.
Abstract:
This is a summary or synopsis of your placement work. It should be brief and self contained (half page to a full page in length) and should state the major
objectives and findings of the investigation / work undertaken. It should answer the following questions:
Why did you start the work?
What did you do and why?
What did you find?
What do your findings mean?
Remember that the abstract gives the reader their first impression of the work.
Introduction:
The Introduction introduces the study, sets the scene, and provides the reader with the insight into what will follow
A concise review of the topic(s) under investigation, with references to previous work done on the subject(s), should be presented where appropriate
The Introduction sets the study in the context of existing works in the area of research or in the context of the overall management of the organisation
for which the work was conducted
The main body of the chapter can be divided into a number of sections by using headings and sub-headings
It should be presented logically and in paragraphs
Sufficient background information should be supplied to allow the reader/examiner to understand and evaluate the results of the work carried out
This chapter justifies your project and it should be obvious to the reader why you undertook the particular work reported
It should include information on the structure and operation of the organisation and also information on the students role and responsibilities during the
placement.
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Exploitation of Innovation through Commercial Network Aims: to analyze of the exploitation of innovation within an organisation through a commercially developed SOCIAL NETWORK service.
Exploitation of Innovation through Commercial Network
Required: an analysis of a recent IBM initiative relating to ‘Social Business’ ibm.com/socialbusiness/uk
It is expected that an in-depth investigation and analysis is undertaken to determine the extent of the theoretical and practical issues involved in how the
Social Media service was achieved through knowledge and innovation frameworks. Examples should be drawn from other research into well-formulated networks
currently available, ie; Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Google, Linkedin, Writeboard, etc. You should include your case analysis enabled successful knowledge
and innovation within the organization. This should also involve a consideration of developments in the field by providing insightful explanations of current
and future potential social media exploitation.
The report should provide an academic analysis by recalling the theories and approaches that are relevant to the topic. You may structure your report to
include any relevant tables or diagrams.
The following learning outcomes are assessed through this assignment.
1. To critically discuss the nature and process of knowledge creation and transfer within organizations.
2. To critically evaluate organizational and social dynamics combine to engender innovation.
3. To analyze the application of concepts and theories related to new ‘social network‘ technologies.
4. To be able present theoretical and empirical evidence to address complex problems and practical and practical situations in relation to knowledge
management and innovation development.
There will be some uploads including in-depth order description, and lecture slides.
In your professional experience, have you been involved in the implementation of a performance management system? If so, you may have already posed questions about implementation to yourself, such as: how should such a system address employee engagement? What kind of online or technology-supported tools or approaches should be used? Are there specific practices or recommendations from management literature that can guide others?
In this essay, you will further explore the challenges of performance management implementation.
•Sharing alternative perspectives on the implementation challenges faced by managers and staff
•
•Synthesising specific recommendations for HR leaders to address these challenges
•
•Discussing the role of employee engagement in your recommendations and how it might be promoted. Include discussion about the relationship of the performance management system to other management processes and the viability of online or technology-supported approaches to performance management
Important note:
Please follow the exact instruction as provided above.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Perfecting Performance Management Implementation
Introduction
Observably, there are many challenges facing the implementation. One question that kept disturbing me was if employee engagement could have made the implementation smooth. In addition, online or technology-supported tools or approaches should have been used to make the implementation work easier. At the end, the implementation was full of flaws. Therefore, the following discussion will engage in illustrating how performance management can be made successful. This will be in the form of strategies from various literatures that give insights on the best possible approaches to handling performance management.
Discussion
One of the disturbing challenges during the performance management implementation in my organization was communication-related challenges (Gao & Gurd 2015, p,234). The organization embraces diversity. A proactive communication strategy was not used in the implementation. Communication challenge was observed in the implementation phase when there were observed conflicts between the employees. The presence of ineffective communication was observed by the failure of the managers to communicate adequately to the employees on the best approach to take after a method failed. In addition, more employees becoming resistant to the change observed failure of communication. The aspect that indicated that there was unclear communication was disorganized time frames upon which implementation was carried upon. Therefore, there was job confusion since every employee found himself or herself executing an assignment that was wrongly timed. Lawther & Martin (2014, p.219) argue that communication is important in an organization because it assist the employee to create a positive momentum. Sykes, Venkatesh & Johnson (2014, p.51) attest that effective communication is a prerequisite for a successful implementation since it enables the employee eradicate fears, take risks, and generate commitment into the system.
The other implementation challenge observed was the lack of leadership support (Van der Merwe & Nienaber 2015, p45). The top management in charged with the implementation never inspired the employees through physical and non-physical means. The leaders failed to encourage the employee in the effort to make the implementation successful. Van der Merwe & Nienaber 2015 (p47) argues that leadership support in implementing performance management is pertinent in creating a vision. Woodrow & Guest (2014, p.38) add that leadership support is crucial in ensuring that the employees are inspired. Some of the means the leadership can support the workforce in implementing performance management include rewards, sharing past successful implementations, and act as role models.
Another implementation challenge observed was the inability to keep the fire of the implementation burning (Gao & Gurd 2015, p,235). I observed that the employees were only interested in the implementation once in the organization. When the working hours were over, the employees forgot what they were doing and wait for the next day. The employees had no interest in the implementation a heart. Some of the employees argued that they wished if the implementation could come at a halt because it was just tiring them. Lawther & Martin (2014, p.221) argue that implementation of a project should be made a part of the employee. Van der Merwe & Nienaber (2015, p51) attest that there is a need to embed performance management as an ongoing process rather than a one-off event. This is where the concept of employee engagement is derived. The importance of employee engagement is that it enables an organization keeps the employee motivated towards the success of the implementation.
The employee, upon being engaged, finds himself or herself doing activities related to the implementation at non-working hours. This means that they take the implementation as a part of their mission, which they cannot like when it fails. Skes, Venkatesh & Johnson (2014, p.53) recommend that employee engagement can be achieved through online techniques such as video-conferencing. These online techniques will ensure that the strategy is communicated well as well as giving feedback to questions the employees might be interested in asking (Woodrow & Guest 2014, p.45).
The other challenge observed was poor monitoring. The monitoring method was blurred. The management failed to assess the progress of the implementation (Gao & Gurd 2015, p,236). Therefore, they were not able to find the emerging needs of the employees in the implementation. Lack of monitoring made the emerging problems to become huge irresolvable issues. For instance, it was observed that failure to monitor employee relationship in the implementation phase, the management was forced to halt the process first to mitigate a conflict that had arisen between the supervisors and the employee.
Lawther & Martin (2014, p.242) argue that monitoring should be made an integral part of the implementation. The author argued that monitoring enables the top management spot minor issues that could eventually lead to the dilemma in the implementation when not attended. Therefore, through monitoring, the management could have encouraged employee engagement, since it could have noticed the wrangles developing between employees and deal with them. Van der Merwe & Nienaber (2015, p48) add that monitoring revolves around earlier warning of a problem and taking a corrective action towards it.
Conclusion
In summary, the discussion has shown that the challenges that were present in my organization when implementing performance management system emanated from communication, problem, poor leadership support, ineffective monitoring, and inability to keep the spirit of the implementation burning. However, the discussion has drawn from the literature review that effective monitoring, effective leadership support, and good monitoring system are important in making implementation useful. This is because, at the end, they encourage employee engagement, which is very crucial in making performance management implementation successful.
References
Gao, T, & Gurd, B 2015, ‘Meeting the challenge in performance management: the diffusion and implementation of the balanced scorecard in Chinese hospitals’, Health Policy & Planning, 30, 2, pp. 234-241, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 19 November 2015.
Lawther, W, & Martin, L 2014, ‘Availability Payments and Key Performance Indicators: Challenges for Effective Implementation of Performance Management Systems in Transportation Public-Private Partnerships’, Public Works Management & Policy, 19, 3, pp. 219-234, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 19 November 2015.
Van der Merwe, MM, & Nienaber, H 2015, ‘FACTORS HINDERING STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION AS PERCEIVED BY TOP, MIDDLE AND FRONTLINE MANAGERS IN A SOUTH AFRICAN ELECTRONICS ORGANIZATION’, Journal of Global Business & Technology, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 45-57.
Woodrow, C, & Guest, D 2014, ‘When good HR gets bad results: exploring the challenge of HR implementation in the case of workplace bullying’, Human Resource Management Journal, 24, 1, pp. 38-56, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 19 November 2015.
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Please complete the following from the textbook:
•Case 13.6 Butler Lumber Company
This case has been selected to give you an opportunity to apply financial analysis to a firm. To do this you will use the firm’s published financial and select financial ratios to make a determination about the case. (Please look at the case questions for guidance on the types of questions you should be focusing on when doing your analysis.)
Please note that there is an attached spreadsheet that has much of the necessary financial information for this case.
Remember that these cases are not to be presented in a question and answer format. Use the case template as a guide on how to write your case solution.)
Finally, copying solutions from the Internet is plagiarism; doing so can result in a grade of zero, and may result in your flunking this course. Please do not copy solutions from others or from materials found on the Internet. Your instructors have access to tools that make it very likely they will find any instances of plagiarism.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Case 13-6 Butler Lumber Company
The firm is doing well in terms of growth because the numbers indicate that the firm has managed to gain growth in its sales. However, a firm’s performance should not be measured only on how its sales volumes are growing over the years. Other factors such as return on investment are also important. Return on investment, when calculated well and honestly, can help very useful in terms if explaining how well the firm is utilizing its investment (resources) (Jiambalvo, 2009). In the case of the Butler Lumber, this does not indicate an effective use of resources. Other metrics such as residual income indicate how well the firm is growing its portfolio from trading. This is the residual income after all the costs have been met (as well as stock dividends have been paid in the case of a public company) (Jackson, Sawyers, & Jenkins, 2007). For Butler Lumber, this is not the case because despite the fact that the firms is growing in terms of sales volumes, it has not been grow its portfolio. At the same time, its profitability is also not growing as the sales are growing. This is probably because of the ineffective use of leverages financing.
A look at the books of accounts for Butler Lumber indicates some problems within the firm. First, his cash flow is not ell managed because of two major issues.
Account payable set to 10 days
Mr. Butler seems to be so enthusiastic about using finical leveraging without at the same time understanding the economic concept of leveraging the fiancés. With regard to accounts payable, most businesses that offer credit give a minimum of 30 business or calendar days. Paying these debts any earlier than the provided data is losing out on the leveraging. It is even worse if the trade credits are offered at an interest rate which means that he will have to pay the interest rate even though the did not benefit from the credit. This may only be present if the interest rates were reduced if he days early. However, if the interest rates remain the same regardless of whether he pays early or not he should be able to take as much advantage of the dread it leveraging as possible. The main point of taking any type of leverage is to make sure that the business can make some money off the leverages financing before paying out. The profits from the leveraged financing should be more than the cost of the financing (Mowen, Hansen, & Heitger, 2015). However, in Butler’s case, this does not seem to be the case. Even worse, he does not seem to understand this principle.
Using loans to pay off trade credit
He also uses loans from the bank to pay off his credit notes, which means that he is having to pay interest twice but getting very little. As see in the balance sheet, the cost of credit is jut too high and this has been caused by the fact that the business sis using the wring method in leveraging. He seem to forget that leveraging comes with a cost and it is only when this cost is well met that the leveraging can work for the business. Using one loan to off set another loan is definitely not prudent.
Butler’s appetite for leveraging is also what is pushing him to wan to take the big loan of 465 hounded. This intention not take the big loan is not justified. The problems is that the banks will not care whether the loan will be of benefit to the firm, as long as they are satisfied that he has the capacity to repay the loan and the interest it is attracting, they will be more than happy to give the loan because that is profitable to them. However, this will not necessary mean that his business is going to benefit from the financial leveraging. At the same time, just because the business is in a position t repay the loan does not mean that it is benefiting from the loan. The expansion hat Butler intents to have is way too much for him to undertake in one step. First, to take such a loan would first require the business to do a due diligence to investigate if there is enough market in for the business to expand at that rate. Taking such a huge loan without any prospects of growth in the volume of sales will means that the loan will not be able to be used to benefit the business. Yet, regardless of whether the loan is able to help the business to expand its production and sales or not, the interest rates will still have to be paid and this will mean that it is possible that the firm will be paying an interest for a loan that it did not benefit from. It is necessary to note that the bank is doing a due diligence to determine whether Butler or his business is able to repay the loan and the interest. The bank is not doing a due diligence to determine if the business will benefit from the loan. It is for the firm to do its own due diligence. In order to determine how much loan it needs in order to benefit from the loan.
Butler should continue with his expansion shame but should be very careful in the way he approaches in expanding a business is one thing that can lead to problems if the market is not ready for a fast paced expansion. In this regard, what the firm can do is to make sure that it has investigated the market. At the end, what will determine how successful the expansion bid is the readiness of the market (Weygandt, Kimmel, & Kieso, 2009). In this regard, the firm should look at how much room for expansion there is in the market and then know how much loan is needed for this expansion. This will help the firm to be able to take a loan that will help it have a prudent way of financial leveraging instead of taking a huge loan that will not be effectively utilized. The firm should not take the entire loan of 465 thousand dollars but should only take a loan of lesser amount. Instead of concentrating on taking a big loan, what the firm should look for is better terms of the loan such as lower interest rates, and flexible repayment schedule. Because the loan is being used for expanding the business, it would be necessary to make sure that the repayment of the loan is flexible and that the bank accepts to give a grace period in case the expansion bid does not succeed as soon as the expansion plan is implemented.
References
Jackson, S., Sawyers, R., & Jenkins, G. (2007). Managerial Accounting: A Focus on Ethical Decision Making. New York City, NY: Cengage Learning.
Jiambalvo, C. (2009). Managerial Accounting. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Mowen, M., Hansen, D., & Heitger, D. (2015). Cornerstones of Managerial Accounting. London, UK: Cengage Learning.
Weygandt, J., . Kimmel, P., & Kieso, E. (2009). Managerial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
•Reflect on your prior knowledge of and experience with performance management in organisations, as an employee, a line manager or an HR professional.
•Write a critically reflective paper (550 words) on the following:
oYour prior knowledge of and experience with the module’s concepts and themes, including those you have identified as particular areas of personal or professional interest
oYour personal biases and assumptions about key module topics
oYour current practice related to key module topics
oPotential areas for your personal development and strategies to continue this growth (this could include your work or future studies)
SAMPLE ANSWER
Performance Management
Performance management has become a buzz word for most managers. However, as Marr and Gray (2012) say, this is one of the management principles that are most misunderstood. Most people do appreciate that performance management is about increasing the performance of either an individual employee or a team of employees with the aim of increasing organisational performance. They focus on the technical aspect of it and consider it to means that the output is the most important thing. In this kind of thinking, when considering an employee’s performance, what seems to matter the most is the output of the employees work. However, according to Khajji (2013), performance management is not only about the productivity of the employee, it is also about the process. The management of performance should not only focus on increasing productivity, hut should also focus on the soft aspects, such as whether the right processes are being applied and whether ethics have been adhered to.
In this regard, performance management should be aligned with organization’s objectives and strategies. Employees should not just be pushed towards increasing their output, but must be sensitized on the need to make sure that their process of works is acceptable. To achieve this, HR policies should be supportive of the Performance management in the organisation.
There are a number of issues that come up with regard to why many organizations fail to have a successful Performance management policy. As Marr and Gray (2012) point out, performance management fails if the organization use a one-way and top-down structure in its implementation. In such a situation, the employees end up being on the receiving end and they do not have a way to give their own feedback. This asymmetric relationship between the employees and the supervisors only leads to resentments by the employees. It also leads to the supervisors not being able to properly help the employees to become better. At the same time, performance management fails because those involved are not aware of the objectives of the performance management or the objectives for which their performance is supposed to achieve. They therefore perceive the process as threatening and unnecessary. Many employees therefore end up perceiving the performance management as an intimidation method that the firm uses to intimidate them.
This is even more when the performance management is directly associated with appraisal and pay. In such a case, associating the performance management to appraisal can affect its effectiveness. Poorly implemented performance management can lead not only in the PM being ineffective, but also lead to other problems such as high employee turnover rates and poor work relationships in the organization. At the same time, it can lead to low motivation to perform and low innovativeness among the employees. If the employees felt like they are being over scrutinized in everything they are doing and being judged on it, they may prefer to play safe and focus on their technical job description as opposed to taking a little risk to come up with better ideas (Weiss, 1997).
As (Jackson, Schuler, & Werner, 2011)says, the other mistake that most organisations make is to focus their attention on the formal requirements of performance management systems. However, the most effective performance management is one that focuses on people and their abilities as opposed to focusing on the processes and bureaucracies. In this regard, organisations that succeed in implementing performance management are the ones that focus on helping the employees to improve their skills in line wit what the organisation wants to achieve.
Reference list
Jackson, S., Schuler, R., & Werner, S. (2011). Managing Human Resources. London, UK: Cengage Learning.
Khajji, P. (2013). Performance Management Systems and Strategies. Mumbai, IN: Pearson Education India.
Sustainable Solution Paper on Starbucks Organization Order Instructions: Sustainable Solution Paper-Starbucks Organization
Sustainable Solution Paper on Starbucks Organization
(Section 1) Identifying your Organization The Starbucks Organization.
Begin by thinking about the organization you have chosen that encompasses both the concept of sustainability and the need to apply strategic thinking. Please refer to the handout, “Sustainable Solutions Paper—Identifying a Potential Organization” for specific guidance on identifying an organization for your Sustainable Solutions Paper.
In your Proposal, identify the organization you have selected and place it in context; then specify its relevance for study, providing supporting evidence as needed. Your initial proposal should be approximately two substantive paragraphs.
Research and references for this section
Book: Harvard Business School Press. (2005). Strategy: Create and implement the best strategy for your business. Boston, MA: Author.
• Introduction
• Chapter 1, “SWOT Analysis I: Looking Outside for Threats and Opportunities” p. 1-15
• Chapter 2, “SWOT Analysis II: Looking Inside for Strengths and Weaknesses” p. 17-28
• Chapter 3, “Types of Strategy: Which Fits Your Business?” p. 29-46
• Chapter 4, “Strategic Moves: The Mechanisms of Success” p. 48-60
• Chapter 5, “From Strategy to Implementation: Seeking Alignment” p. 61-75
Book: Senge, P., Smith, B., Kruschwitz, N., Laur, J., & Schley, S. (2010).The necessary revolution: How individuals and organizations are working together to create a sustainable world. New York, NY: Doubleday.
• Chapter 1, “A Future Awaiting Our Choices”
• Chapter 9, “Positioning for the Future and the Present”
• Chapter 11, “Building Your Case for Change”
Articles
• Porter, M.E. & Millar, V.E. (1985). How information gives you competitive advantage. Harvard Business Review, 63(4), 149-161. Retrieved from ABI/Inform Global database.
• NetMBA.com. (2007). The value chain. Retrieved December 5, 2008, from http://www.netmba.com/strategy/value-chain
• Freemen, R. E, Gilbert, Jr. D. R., & Hartman, E. (1988). Values and the foundations of strategic management. Journal of Business Ethics, 7(11), 821-834. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
• Kaplan, R. S. & Norton, D. P. (2008). Mastering the management system. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 62-77. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
• Mintzberg, H., & Hunsicker, J. Q. (1988). Crafting strategy. McKinsey Quarterly, 3, 71-90. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
• Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 78-93. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
Handouts/Study Notes
• Integrated Essay Guidelines
• Sustainable Solutions Paper — Identifying a Potential Organization
• Freeman, R. E. & McVea, J. (2001). A stakeholder approach to strategic management. Retrieved December 4, 2008, from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=263511
• How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography Entry
• Handout: The Resource Transformation Process & Competitive Advantage: A Detailed, Process-Oriented Typology of Organizational Resources & Implications for SWOT Analysis
(Section 2) Applying Traditional Strategic Thinking Tools
Apply traditional strategic thinking tools in this section of the paper.
Please see the handout, Sustainable Solutions Paper—Applying Strategic Thinking Tools, Part I, for a fuller description of the following required traditional framing analyses:
• Stakeholder Identification and Value Analysis
• General Force Analysis
• Porter’s Five-Forces Industry Analysis
• Detailed Value Chain Analysis
• Detailed SWOT/SCOT Analysis
• Key Success Factors: Integrating the Analysis
Be sure to continue using the template: SSP Template. For more information about the final SSP deliverable, please review the Sustainable Solutions Paper Application Rubric, presented as a separate attachment.
Research and references for this section
Book: Harvard Business School Press. (2005). Strategy: Create and implement the best strategy for your business. Boston, MA: Author.
• Chapter 6, “Action Plans: The Architecture of Implementation” p. 77-94
• Chapter 7, “How to Stay on Course: Sensing and Responding to Deviations from Plan” p. 95-108
• Chapter 8, “The People Side of Implementation: Getting the Right People on Board” p. 109-120
• Chapter 9, “Strategy as Work-in-Progress: Keep Looking Ahead” p. 121-136
Book: Stacey, R. (2013). Strategic management and organisational dynamics: The challenge of complexity (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.
• Chapter 4, “Thinking in Terms of Strategic Choice: Cybernetic Systems, Cognitivist and Humanistic Psychology” p. 64-97
• Chapter 5, “Thinking in Terms of Organisational Learning and Knowledge Creation: Systems Dynamics, Cognitivist, Humanistic and Constructivist Psychology” p. 98-125
• Chapter 7, “Thinking About Strategy Process from Systematic Perspective: Using a Process to Control a Process” p.148-171
Articles
• Hamel, G., & Prahalad, C. K. (2005). Strategic intent. Harvard Business Review, 83(7-8). Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
Porter, M. E. (1996). What is strategy?. Harvard Business Review, 74(6), 61-78. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
• Wheeler, D., Colbert, B., & Freeman, R. E. (2003). Focusing on value: Reconciling corporate social responsibility, sustainability and a stakeholder approach in a network world. Journal of General Management, 28(3), 1-28. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
• Mintzberg, H., & Lampel, J. (1999). Reflecting on the strategy process. Sloan Management Review, 40(3), 21-30. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
• Chang, D. S. & Sun, K. L. (2007). Exploring the correspondence between total quality management and Peter Senge’s disciplines of a learning organization: A Taiwan perspective. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 18(7), 807-822. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
• Kunsch, P. L., Theys, M., & Brans, J. P. (2007). The importance of systems thinking in ethical and sustainable decision-making. Central European Journal of Operations Research, 15(3), 253-269. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
• Mintzberg, H. (1990). The design school: Reconsidering the basic premises of strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 11(3), 171-195. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
• Mintzberg, H. (1994). The fall and rise of strategic planning. Harvard Business Review, 72(1), 107-114. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
• Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 78-93. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database
Handouts/Study Notes
• Sustainable Solutions Paper—Applying Strategic-Thinking Tools, Part I
• Sustainable Solutions Paper—Applying Strategic-Thinking Tools, Part II
• How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography Entry
(Section 3) Extending and Re-Framing the Sustainable Solutions Paper
Apply your understanding of organizations as complex adaptive systems, expanding the scale and scope of your analysis for your Sustainable Solutions Paper.
Please see the detailed handout titled, “Sustainable Solutions Paper—Complexity Analysis,” for a fuller description of the following required systems expansion analyses:
• Fitness Landscape Translation Analysis
• Boid Analysis: Rules for your topic?
• Ray’s Simulation Translation & Fishing Simulation Translation: Industry Evolution Modeling
Be sure to continue using the template SSP Template. For more information about the final SSP deliverable, please review the Sustainable Solutions Paper Application Rubric
Research and references for this section
Book: Stacey, R. (2013). Strategic management and organisational dynamics: The challenge of complexity (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.
• Chapter 10, “The Complexity Sciences: The Sciences of Uncertainty” p. 234-261
• Chapter 11, “Systemic Applications of Complexity Sciences to Organisations: Restating the Dominant Discourse” p. 262-295
Book: Senge, P., Smith, B., Kruschwitz, N., Laur, J., & Schley, S. (2010).The necessary revolution: How individuals and organizations are working together to create a sustainable world. New York, NY: Doubleday.
• Chapter 2, “How We Got into This Predicament” p. 14-32
• Chapter 3, “Life Beyond the Bubble” p. 33-41
• Chapter 4, “New Thinking, New Choices” p. 42-56
• Chapter 8, “Risks and Opportunities: The Business Rationale for Sustainability” p. 101-118
• Chapter 9, “Positioning for the Future and the Present” p. 119-139
• Chapter 16, “Convening: Get the System in the Room” p. 234-249
Chapter 19, “Innovation Inspired by Living Systems” p. 285-291
• Chapter 20, “Unleashing Everyday Magic” p. 292-301
• Chapter 22, “From Low-Hanging Fruit to New Strategic Possibilities” p. 310-323
Articles
• Carlisle, Y., & McMillan, E. (2006). Innovation in organizations from a complex adaptive systems perspective. Emergence: Complexity & Organization, 8(1), 2-9. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
• Lichtenstein, B. B., Uhl-Bien, M., Marion, R., Seers, A., Orton, J. D., & Schreiber, C. (2006). Complexity leadership theory: An interactive perspective on leading in complex adaptive systems. Emergence: Complexity & Organization, 8(4), 2-12. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
• Morçöl, G. (2005). A new systems thinking: implications of the sciences of complexity for public policy and administration. Public Administration Quarterly, (3), 297-320. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Global database.
• Plowman, D. A., Baker, L. T., Beck, T. E., Kulkarni, M., Solansky, S. T., & Travis, D. V. (2007). Radical change accidentally: The emergence and amplification of small change. Academy of Management Journal, 50(3), 515-543. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
• Senge, P. M., Lichtenstein, B. B., Kaeufer, K., Bradbury, H., & Carroll, J. S. (2007). Collaborating for systemic change. MIT Sloan Management Review, 4
Sustainable Solution Paper on Starbucks Organization Sample Answer
Sustainable Solutions Paper
Samuel Benn
Walden University
DBA Strategy 8161
Sustainable Solutions Paper
Introduction
Sustainability has been part of Starbucks strategy since 2004. The sustainability approach at Starbucks is critical when it comes to enhancing sourcing practices for products other than coffee, its method of charity, transparency, reporting and declaration, and management at executive and board levels. While the paper evaluates sustainability solutions at Starbucks, it presents relevant information that can augment the understanding of sustainability in entirety.
Purpose
The analysis of Starbucks is necessary, why because the firm’s future expansion and sustainability rely on its capacity to embrace a healthy business model. The firm should constantly advance its strategies important for value chain analysis, CRS and sustainability so as to remain competitive. Because value chain goes further than the business, it provides a platform for understanding an organization’s environmental, social effect and general stability. For that reason, recognizing and assessing Starbucks value chain presents insights that help in strategic planning and implementation. By and large, the analysis of Starbucks is essential in providing pertinent information for a wider knowledge base thus aid in comprehending sustainability.
Stakeholder Identification and Value Analysis
Stakeholder identification is the logical analysis and assessment of their impact when it comes to executing high-growth and sustainable solutions. Stakeholder identification is necessary during initial phases in formulating strategies, so as to prevent improvident allocation of resources on strategies primary stakeholders may not support. Moreover, stakeholder analysis is critical in enhancing and reformulating high-growth strategies to get the approval of primary stakeholders who may be against such techniques. Identification of stakeholders allows the firm to open other potential areas and methods to increase rapidly its ability and competence (Mintzberg, 1990). At Starbucks, stakeholders are people who occupy important positions in the company or those with the ability to significantly impact the firm’s revenues and expenses. These people can be within or outside the enterprise. In Starbucks, the relative effect of potential clients for skim or non-fat drinks can easily prevail over the views one person, the CEO. If the firm had attempted to reinvent its products to increase client base, instead of using traditional brand lines, it might have easily met client needs. Currently, the company sells various products besides coffee including, ice-cream and is evidently a firm that can listen to all the stakeholders.
Integrated Concepts From Readings, Evidence and Implications
Starbucks’ commitment to its stakeholders and focus on its mission statement and vision provides the firm with the need for change. The company looks for further opportunities while increasing stakeholders’ value. However, the company ought to integrate strategic intent thinking in their enterprise level strategy. This move will be significant when it comes to inspiring innovation (Morçöl, 2005). As a result, this will positively influence business strategy since change helps in the achievement of strategic objectives. Using stakeholders’ opinions in the company’s business strategy helps in exploiting the available opportunities. Moreover, strategic intent thinking allows the search for opportunities relevant for repositioning or restructuring their competencies so as to enhance sustainability (Stacey, 2013). All people across the organization are charged with the responsibility of work in teams to achieve the organizational goals as they have impartiality in the outcomes. Various perspectives on the organization provide room to address flexible environmental changes without the need for implementing strategic paradigms (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2009).
Allowing stakeholder participation in the strategic planning allows the company to use available opportunities. Intent thinking is also necessary for exploring further opportunities, for which the firm can restructure its key competencies in a bid to increase sustainability.
General Force Analysis: External – Remote Environment
General Force Analysis involves collecting information about the organization’s external environment based on opportunities as well as threats. It is an exercise of ensuring that changes in external environment do not take the organization by surprise. They include;
Economics
The economic growth in developing nations as well as reducing joblessness presents opportunities for this organization to generate profit from different markets. Although, the increasing labor expenditures in developing adversely affects Starbucks since it leads to high expenditure for raw materials. Starbucks gets a significant percentage of raw materials from developing nations. Therefore, economic factors provide the firm with opportunities.
Technology
The firm has opportunities of increasing their mobile apps and related services to generate more profit via mobile payment platforms. Subsequently, Starbucks can enhance the efficiency of its SCM using modern technologies utilized by coffee growers (Stacey, 2013). Nevertheless, the increasing availability of home-made coffee appliances threatens the organization since enhances the availability of competitors’ products.
Demographics / social / culture
Social factors involve social environment and patterns that influence operations as well as clients. For that reason, the company has to put into account various factors including, increasing the number of middle class, increasing coffee culture and growing health conscious. The company has the opportunity of increasing its profit due to growing demand for specialty products, coffee culture and increasing number of middle class. Also, Starbucks can broaden its assortment of health brands to meet the needs of health-conscious clients.
Government / legal / military
On political factors, Starbucks faces regional incorporation, which is beneficial for the firm when it comes to its international growth strategy. In addition, many governments worldwide are upgrading their infrastructural facilities that allow the company to access easily various markets and suppliers. Nonetheless, bureaucratic procedures are persistent in many nations. This affects the firm as its makes expansion hard, particularly in developing nations.
Physical environment
Sustainability pattern at Starbucks concentrates on business procedures, which guarantees minimal ecological effects. With regards to accountable sourcing highlights on CRS in the SCM. At the moment, the organization has got accountable sourcing guidelines. Moreover, the firm has the opportunities of the offering, some its brands in eco-friendly packaging
Implications, Threats, and Opportunities of GFA
According to the GFA model, there is a need for putting into account and further assessment of the economic, technological and social factors hence the use of technology such as mobile apps and related services to generate more profit via mobile payment platforms. Subsequently, Starbucks can enhance the efficiency of its SCM using modern technologies utilized by coffee growers (Hoovers, 2010).
Additionally, there is evidence of high profit due to growing demand for specialty products, coffee culture and growing number of middle class. Much as these benefits are favorable, the threats are potentially overwhelming. For instance, the increasing availability of home-made coffee appliances threatens Starbucks since these enhances the availability of competitors’ products (Hoovers, 2010). In general, by 2018, however, the cost of coffee beans is expected to reduce, which will lead to reduced market rates and high-profit margins. Health attitude is another factor that is important in determining demand in this sector. The expected change in healthy lifestyle can be adverse the industry since clients are aware of the associated weight and obesity issues (Starbucks, 2013). Nonetheless, players in this sector have been proactive when it comes to shifting to organic and healthy brand mix.
Porter’s Five Forces Industry Analysis: External – Industry Environment
Porter’s Five Forces Industry Analysis is a model for analysis industry environment. These forces determine the competitiveness and attractiveness in the market they include; the bargaining power of the buyers, the bargaining power of the suppliers, the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitute products, and the intensity of the rivalry.
Five Forces Matrix Analysis
Barriers to entry
This threat is moderate since entry barriers are high; thus put off new rivals. However, the industry is moderately high due to monopolistic rivalry system. For new entrants, the initial venture is affordable because they can lease stores and equipment. At the domestic level, small-scale coffee stores can contend with Starbucks since there are no possibilities for changing prices for buyers. Although, this industry is associated with intense competition, chances of new entrants to be successful are moderate. Nonetheless, this average entry in the market is experienced by big incumbent stores like Starbucks that have realized economies of scale through price reductions, increased good organization, and a significant market share. Additionally, there is a somewhat significant barrier since new entrants that try to differentiate their brands from Starbuck’s brand quality, strategic regions, and store setting. Established companies such as Starbucks have a substantial size as well as degree, providing them easy access raw material and learning curve benefit. The anticipated revenue from established firms for product equity, resources, location, and cost, are moderately high creating a moderate barrier to entry.
Substitutes
There is some sensible substitute for coffee such as tea, soda, water, and energy drinks (Porter, 1996). Pubs that sell non-alcoholic drinks can replace Starbucks coffee. Further, clients can make their home-made coffee instead of buying premium coffee brands. However, there are no cases of changing prices for buyers for switching to substitutes that make them high. Nonetheless, it is to keep in mind that main players in the industry such as Starbucks are addressing the threat of substitutes by selling coffee makers and premium coffee packs, but it continues to exert pressure on the company’s profits.
Bargaining power of suppliers
The primary components of the Starbucks value chain are coffee beans and Arabica coffee cultivated in certain geographic regions, an aspect that makes changing prices among suppliers moderately lower. With regards to Starbucks scale and size, it is in a position to benefit from its suppliers, though it retains a fair trade licensed coffee based on the coffee and farmer equity plan, which presents the suppliers with a fair alliance position that in turn presents moderate low bargaining power. Further, vendors in this industry pose a lower threat to compete with Starbucks through vertical integration that reduces their power. Again, Starbucks has a vital component of suppliers that reduces their power. For that reason, suppliers cause moderate low bargaining power.
Bargaining power of buyers
There are many purchasers. However, none of them can demand price consideration. They offer vertically differentiated goods with a different client base that make moderately low purchases that reduce buyers’ power. Although, there is no changing price due to the significant availability of substitute products, Starbucks costs are determined by current market conditions. On the other hand, clients have a modest sensitivity to premium coffee since they pay highly for quality brands. However, they are careful of exorbitant rates with regards to quality (Porter, 2008).
Competitive rivalry
This industry is associated with monopolistic competition, where Starbucks has the biggest market share while its close rivals have a considerable share in the market, thus provide great pressure on Starbucks. On the other hand, clients incur the cost of changing to other stores hence create intense competition. However, Starbucks retains competitiveness because of differentiation causing moderate rivalry (Porter, 2008).. The retail coffee and snacks industry is not only mature but also growth rate is moderately low causing intense competition among firms to moderately significant as they all aim at increasing market share from well-established organizations. Nevertheless, the sector has no over capacity, making the level of rivalry to being moderately high.
Implications, Threats, and Opportunities of Porter’s Five Forces
According to the Porter’s Five Forces Starbucks have opportunities and threats. The firm’s main threat is intense competition from Dunkin. This is because Dunkin Brands has a market share of 24.6% compared to Starbucks’ 36.7% (IBIS, 2013). There is a somewhat significant barrier since new entrants that try to differentiate their brands from Starbuck’s brand quality, strategic regions, and store setting. Also, Starbucks has a substantial size as well as degree, providing them easy access raw material and learning curve benefit. With regards to Starbucks scale and size, it is in a position to benefit from its suppliers, though it retains a fair trade licensed coffee based on the coffee and farmer equity plan, which presents the suppliers a fair alliance position that in turn presents moderate low bargaining power (Hoovers, 2010).
Detailed Value Chain Analysis: Internal Environment
Value chain analysis
The value chain is a logical structure that is important when it comes to identifying the firm’s operations that can generate value as well as competitiveness (Garza, 2010). Value chain analysis includes inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and services. Starbucks value chain is illustrated below;
Primary Activities
Inbound logistics: in 2010, Starbucks supply chain management (SCM) was remarkably modified following the return of Howard Schultz as the chief executive officer due to the worldwide economic slump. The modification of the firm’s inbound logistics entailed simplifying SCM and development of a distinct, global logistics network (Hamel & Prahalad, 2005). Arabic coffee beans are imported from Africa, Latin America, and Asia to Europe and the United States through the sea. They are delivered to the firm’s regional distributions. After which this coffee is roasted then supplied to main distribution centers across the globe. In addition to coffee from regional distribution hubs, the main distributions get deliveries from suppliers for a variety of brands such napkins and coffee appliances. Main distribution hubs produce over 70,000 deliveries weekly to various Starbucks stores in more than 62 nations (Starbucks, 2013). Nevertheless, in the recent past, the firm has been searching for opportunities to cultivate its coffee beans. In particular, since 2013 has about 240 h coffee ranches in Costa Rica. This change in sourcing for the raw material may tremendously enhance the efficacy of brand development for the operation because Starbucks gets the opportunity of testing news coffee types.
Operations: the firm operates in about 62 nations in two systems namely firm operated and certified. In 2014, the firm had about 10,713, and 10,653 firm-operated, and certified stores respectively. The company increased the value of its operations through provision free internet access to the stores. Furthermore, Starbucks operation segments are categorized into five areas;
Segment
Revenue share (%)
US, Latin America, and Canada
73
Asia Pacific
7
Africa, Europe, and the Middle East
8
Channel development
9
Others
3
Outbound logistics: clients can buy the firm’s brands from certified as well as firm-operated stores. Also, they can use online services for particular brands, including drink-related devices, tea, and packaged coffee among others (Wheeler, Colbert & Freeman, 2003). Again, individual products can be purchased from leading supermarkets such as Tesco and Wal-Mart. Marketing and sales: previously, Starbucks did not invest in marketing its brands. Word-of-mouth was widely used marketing strategy this involved quality offerings as well as customer services. Nonetheless, the intense competition encouraged executives to reevaluate the marketing technique as such; the company budget has continuously been going up in the last five years to reach about $315.5b in 2014 (Garza, 2010). The money is invested in different parts of print and media promotions, events, direct marketing, and public relations.
Services: Starbucks primary source of competitive edge is good customer services, an aspect that increases value to its product image. The firm’s customer services are pleasantly polite and address regular clients by names. Seldom, regular clients can get their preferred brands for free based on customer service discretion, an indication of good gesture, which in turn adds the awareness of outstanding services to a great degree. Additionally, following the increasing hectic lifestyle, the company spends time assessing as well as enhancing ways on effectively matching their clients’ speed needs-providing tailor made beverages in a few minutes. Starbucks utilizes differential strategy. The firm aims at thwarting its rivals; as such MacDonald, Dunkin. Starbucks has been successful in standardization and enhancing the economies of scales.
Enterprise Level Strategy
Enterprise level strategy governs the whole company while aligning the firm with stakeholders. Starbucks monitors its workers so as to ensure quality products that meet clients demands. Some of its stakeholders include customers, employees, investors, suppliers, the environment and the government. In addition, the firm greatly values its employees since they are the people that help the company to survive. Mission statement: To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” This demonstrates some of the things the firm implements or embraces to survive in the competitive sector. In any case, Starbucks mission statement not only nurtures and inspires but also reflects the aspect of one individual, one cup and one neighbor (Starbucks, 2011).
Vision: to establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow.” This vision reflects various aspects including finest coffee globally, growth, inflexible principles, and premier purveyance (Starbucks, 2011). Starbucks mission statement and vision demonstrate the platform upon which the company uses to increase its value and offer a return on investment for its stakeholders. The company uses differentiation strategy to fulfill the demands of its mission statement and vision, hence supporting their stakeholders’ values.
Organizational Culture Type
The company has a strong organizational culture that revolves around ethical as well as responsiveness to clients’ demands. It is obvious that Starbucks has loyal customers who are satisfied with products they buy. On the hand, the company provides long-term benefits for its workers. Starbucks strives for cohesive teams and developing strong links in a bid to create unity.
Customized Value Chain of Activities in Table Form
Table 1: Value Chain Analysis
Business Process
Starbucks
Dunkin
Macdonald
Management
operates both centralized and decentralized
Centralized management
Same management structure as Starbucks.
Inbound logistics
Modified SCM
Unique niche for acquiring organic ingredients from local farmers
Strengths:
• Economies of scale
– Pass value to clients (such as $1 menu)
Operations
operates in about 62 nations
Has a global presence
operates in 32,000 restaurants globally in 118 nations
Outbound logistics
Certified as well as firm-operated stores.
Tracks the movement of finished goods
Strength: strengthened Information Systems
Sales
High volume of sales
Strategic marketing to attract customers
Strengths:
•Product
– Health and wellness promotion & product – customer and market research
Service
Good customer services
Quick-service restaurants boast particular characteristics that in turn enhance the number of clients
Strengths:
• Fast food service
• Order accurateness
Implications of Competitive Analysis
Strengths
Some of the organization’s strengths include; a modified supply chain management (SCM). The modification of the firm’s inbound logistics entailed simplifying SCM and development of a distinct, worldwide logistics network (Hamel & Prahalad, 2005). Arabic coffee beans are imported from Africa, Latin America, and Asia to Europe and the United States through the sea. Main distribution hubs produce over 70,000 deliveries weekly to various Starbucks stores in more than 62 nations (Starbucks, 2013). Because the firm operates in about 62 countries it had about 10,713 and 10,653 firm operated and certified stores respectively (Starbucks, 2013).
Weaknesses
The intense competition encouraged executives to reevaluate the marketing technique as such; the company budget has continuously been going up in the last five years to reach about $315.5b in 2014 (Garza, 2010). The money is invested in different parts of print and media promotions, events, direct marketing, and public relations.
Skills
The firm has been searching for opportunities to cultivate its coffee beans. In particular, since 2013 has about 240 h coffee ranches in Costa Rica (Starbucks, 2013). This change in sourcing for the raw material may tremendously enhance the efficacy of brand development for the operation because Starbucks gets the opportunity of testing news coffee types.
Capabilities
Starbucks main source of competitive edge is good customer services, an aspect that increases value to its product image. The firm’s customer services are pleasantly polite and address regular clients by names. Seldom, regular customers can get their preferred brands for free based on customer service discretion, an indication of good gesture, which in turn adds the awareness of outstanding services to a significant degree (Carlisle & McMillan, 2006).
Detailed SWOT Analysis
SWOT Factor Matrix
SO strategies
The robust market presence and worldwide product recognition: the firm has stores in different regions with a market share of 36.7% in the US and operates in more than 60 nations (Starbucks, 2013). In addition, Starbucks is a leading product when comes to coffee segment and in 2013 it was among the recognized brands worldwide (Mintzberg, 1994). The company leverages its brand through merchandise and certifying its product emblem out. The robust market presence and product recognition enable Starbucks to gain a considerable competitive edge in the expansion in global markets while recording high growth. For years, the company has realized economies of scale with advanced delivery networks and suppliers.
High-quality products: the company concentrates on quality product delivery and prevents standardization of its quality even with significant production.
Location and appeal of Starbucks stores: Starbucks has located its stores in primes as well as strategic locations worldwide. Starbucks target high-traffic areas, premium and visibility regions close to various neighborhoods such as retail centers, learning institutions, downtown and certain rural locations globally. A move that has earned Starbucks an excellent capability and ability to expand in prime regions and meet clients convince. The stores are also visually attractive with a cool element to reflect the distinct feature of settings they operate in. The firm offers free WiFi, good music, quality services and an excellent place for people to meet that forms a larger component f the” firms experience” the key goal for Starbucks is making their stores a “home” to its customers. The use of technology and mobile channels such as Starbucks apps helps the company to leverage successfully and support its growth on a yearly basis (Plowman et al., 2007)
Human resource management: The Company is recognized for highly knowledgeable workers. They form the principal assets of Starbucks as such they are offered great benefits including healthy practices, retirement plans, and stocks. This move transforms to exceptional client services. It was ranked 91 out 100 good firms for one to work with. Goodwill among customers as a result of CRS: Starbucks stores are friendly, focus on recycling and waste reduction. The company also develops support in communities they function. Client base loyalty: The firm has a massive customer base, and they have executed loyalty initiatives such as Starbucks Cards and Reward strategies. The Card is an initiative that presents convenience, gifting and enhance card-holders regularity to the stores.
ST strategies
Intense competition: this primary threat the firm experience from Costa Coffee, Dunkin Brands, McDonalds among others. Because the coffee market has a market, this puts pressure on the organization. Starbucks main competitor in the United States market is Dunkin Brands with a market share of roughly 24.6% (Hoovers, 2010). Cost instability in the international coffee market: substantial price changes in the market for high-quality coffee beans, has been challenging for Starbucks because it is in a position to control.
Market saturation in developed economies: the firm generates substantial revenue from developed markets that are currently facing congestion. On developed economies, a financial crisis like 2008 may influence the developed markets upon which Starbucks depends on. This would considerably affect the profit margins of Starbucks as clients shift from premium products as they spend less during the financial crisis. Growing client preferences and lifestyles: the customer shift to more health choices and the threats associated with coffee affect Starbucks revenue.
WO strategies
Expansion in the new emerging market: The high diffusion, as well as reliance on the American market, makes Starbucks global strategy further imperative. Also, the company developed high-quality inroad in various nations, and in the recent past, India has joined the list through the entry of an enterprise. The firm has a substantial growth potential in the expansion of emerging and new markets. This allows Starbucks to leverage its size, experience, financial health and effectiveness in making new market share.
Broadening brand mix and offerings: in the recent times, Starbucks has begun expanding its product mix by offering teas as well as fresh juices using a smart acquisition approach. They provide considerable opportunities for the firm (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2009). Increasing retail operations: the company sells the packaged coffee, iced beverages through large retailers. This segment’s ability is not yet fully realized as such presents Starbucks the opportunities for future monetization of their offerings. Technological development: the firm has implemented mobile devices/apps and partnered with Square a mobile payment platform, which is incorporated with Starbucks app. Such developments allow clients to use the procedure efficiently, aligning client loyalty using reward plans. In reality, Starbucks is ahead of its rivals, and roughly 10 percent of the transactions in the United States have been done using mobile apps. In any case, this is a growing area and likely to drive clients to their shops at the same time as technology progresses.
Delivery channels: the company has initiated a beta edition of distribution network commonly called Mobile Pour. This presents substantial future opportunities by increasing the delivery of products and likely to drive profits if executed.
Product extension: the firm has a strong product image, which can be leveraged to extend horizontally of its operations and venture in brand diversification. This guarantees that dilution risk associated with the brand is monitored.
WT strategies
Costly products: Whereas Starbucks differentiate its brands especially during the economic slowdown; clients have a switch to rivals with cheaper products. The high costs can also lead to certain weaknesses especially in developing nations (Plowman et al., 2007). Self-cannibalization by congestion: Aggressively expanding and saturation as a result of congestion in the market contributes to cannibalization and reduces the company’s sustainable growth objectives. This occurs primarily in the US where the firm has over 8,087 stores (Starbucks, 2011).
Over-reliance on US market: With regards to self-cannibalization of the American market, the firm gets a significant percentage of its revenue from the United States making it’s susceptible prospect to the financial system as well as growth. Adverse great firm image: just like any big establishment, the firm is under augmented inquiry and has to invest in CSR while maintaining mechanical control of employment practices. Consequently, Starbucks product culture may fail to be accepted in certain nations as part of global development (Wheeler, Colbert, & Freeman, 2003).
Key Success Factor Analysis
Differentiation has been at the center of Starbucks main strategy. The company offers differentiators like quality product mix, places, coffee drink repute and superior clientele support that led to the creation of a quality product that is costly to emulate for competitors. The company has also followed an intelligent approach to the strategic alliance in making brilliant acquirements. Instead of embracing the franchise model, Starbucks chose to operate stores and joint ventures in the global sphere (Clark, 2007). Starbucks made considerable acquirements like Teavana (Tea products), Bay Breads (quality bread), and Evolution Fresh (fresh products) as diversification model. Moreover, the company’s acquisition methodology leans towards horizontal, product and market acquisitions. Global strategy has been the other critical methodology for Starbuck’s progression when expanding into some of the developed markets and also emerging one, to geographically differentiate. The approach has been a great accomplishment with operation spanning sixty nations. Collectively, these strategies have offered Starbucks competitive edge against its competitors (IBIS, 2013).
Starbucks (Financial) Performance Analysis:
A close look at a 6-year period ratio and growth review of Starbucks financial performance from 2008 to 2013 demonstrates that the income development of the organization plummeted -5.9% during the 2008/09 economic slump (Starbucks, 2011). However, the company made significant growth in earnings from 2010 to 2013 had a growth rate of 13.7% in 2012. Starbucks made revenues amounting to $14.9b in 2013 (Starbucks, 2013). The running income has escalated substantially from 4.9% in 2008 to fifteen percent in 2012. Conversely, in 2013, Starbucks generated a loss -2.2% that stemmed from the legal penalty of USD 2.8b to Kraft Foods after terminating the agreement. The penalty should be regarded as odd and therefore not be reduced from the strong general functioning of Starbucks. The company’s return on equity (ROE) and return on asset (ROA) were remarkable in 2012 with 29.2% and 17.8% in 2012 (Starbucks, 2013).
When considering Starbucks competence rates, the company has achieved significant operation with significant asset inventory revenue ratios with a low of 1.51 and 5.4 correspondingly for 2013. Regarding cash exchange, the company increased to 54.7 in 2013, and this is where Starbucks ought to focus on reducing to enhance higher proficiency. The company’s general financial health is remarkable with reduced debt/leverage at an equity ratio of 0.29 for 2013 (Starbucks Company Profile, 2011). The firm has decent current as well as quick ratios.
Analyzing the Company Strategy Type
Starbucks utilizes a multi-faceted strategy (Starbucks, 2013). This strategy entails different strategies that are incorporated into an interrelated one so as to ensure that the company is sustainable. In the multi-faced strategy, Starbucks has a differentiation strategy or diversification that is important in providing various brands that diverse regarding price or characteristics, aspects that present competitiveness for the organization (Starbucks, 2013). Other strategies Starbucks utilizes are functional approaches that customized for particular departments across the organization like logistics; operations; marketing and sales; human resources among others (Starbucks, 2013). The practical strategy aims at presenting the roles of a certain department to set objectives, action plan, and the overall mission of the company.
The multi-faceted approach enables Starbucks flexibility, sustainability and expand globally with a particular emphasis now on Asia and emerging economies. The multi-faceted strategy deploys allow the organization to embrace system thinking philosophy within Starbucks transformation expansion of global market that embedded system thinking process within its action plan for diversification; and this allows various stakeholders being part of the whole system that influences decision- marking (Stacey,2011). These interactions between different functions of Starbuck’s operation enables successful transformation into the global coffee market, from serving one cup one person in a neighbor heritage to a leader in this industry also unveil Starbucks’ adapt the system thinking actions. The embracing of the system thinking in Starbuck’s organization is apparent in a way that those reviewing the organization heritage, examine the system as a whole that includes themselves as part of the organization’s system and potentially contribute to the problem and determine solutions to foster change as a team.
Action Plan Analysis
The action plan presents strategic objectives while identifying the phases needed to accomplish those (Hamel & Prahalad, 2005). The action plan also integrates a timeline to help in assessing its effectiveness. For action plans to be valuable, the assessment process should identify the measurement of success, which should regard as benchmarks,(Starbucks, 2013). Once that complete, the company should repeatedly monitor the progress and assess it against pre-set criteria. Despite proof of success, it is obvious that a franchise strategic plans in the Starbucks diversification strategy is needed. That plan has not been part of the diversification strategy and ignored in the past (Starbucks, 2013). It also suggests the need for launching a new menu embarked, which, will entice non-consumers taste for coffee products and offers varieties of taste to accomplish the target Asia market for establishing 1000 shops (Starbucks,2013). That franchise plan embedded in the diversification plan will enable Starbucks timely accomplish the target1000 coffee bars target before a new entrant’s disruptor activities emerges. The assessment of accomplishments presents proof of success (Starbucks, 2013).
Action
Roles
Timeline
Resources & objectives
Existing
Required resources to accomplish the objectives
Potential obstacles
What the firm may oppose?
Communication Plan
1. People involved
Techniques used
How frequent
Phase 1:
Retail importance
Corporate
Executive management
workers
2015-2017
Employees, merchandising competencies, increase working hours for the sales teams.
Minimize duplication of products, invest in marketing, maximize operating margins
Dunkin
Dunkin will utilize their economies of scale against Starbucks attempts.
Everybody is involved; open communication is essential to realizing the objective
Internal communication,
On a daily basis
Phase 2:
Modify Value Chain
Corporate
& Regional branches
2015-2017
Logistics, operations, management, customer service, and sales
Raise bonus system, regular auditing of suppliers, increase distribution hubs and maximize training hours for every store.
workers and firm’s management
failure to execute necessary audits, reduce additional training time, and non-compliance.
Corporate and employees in regional branches.
Performed daily
Phase3:
increase Market Share from 34%-40%
BOD
Executive Officer
2015-2017
The available resources to be used optimally.
Further funding for regional stores, increase the number of suppliers and increase marketing funds.
Dunkin and Macdonald
Changing the strategy, increase marketing techniques, and reducing costs to be competitive.
The regular meeting of the BOD and senior executives.
Internal emails, in-person meetings.
BOD to hold monthly meeting while weekly meeting for other people across the firm.
Sustainable Solution Paper on Starbucks Organization Conclusions
Starbucks incorporates their vision and mission and investor values into their organizational level approaches, business methods and functional approaches in a bid to ensure sustainability. Starbucks embraces modern technology and innovative approaches across their value chain, in an attempt to clamp down weaknesses and enhance the company’s strength. Some of the strategies that have been used: value chain assessment, general forces analysis, porter’s five force model, key success factors, action plan analysis, (boid analysis and evolution industry strategy). Ultimately, Starbucks recognizes the need for social obligation, an innovation that enhances quality and the sustainability aspect of the organization and embrace system thing process throughout transformational agenda for global expansion.
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