Measurement scale case study

A measurement scale is very important in research. The scales help in coming up with an understanding about a particular subject while communicating with other people. Comparing many variables together in research requires a measurement scale in order to identify the main characters.

In this case, we will apply a nominal scale to assist in defining the various methodologies which can be implemented in the case study. The nominal scale is basically a categorization of records that are not measured nor ordered though the themes are not allocated to the distinct categorization.

The nominal scales are mostly associated with the fact that they do not contain quantitative value (GRAVETTER, & WALLNAU, 2009: pg35). Nominal scales simply present the variables which answer a ‘Yes’ or “No” question.   

Questionnaires

Do you trust the various human resource policies of your organization? Yes, the various policies by the human resource department in the organization are trustworthy since the working on a better health care commission presents the possibility of ending the process of employee turnover.   

Do you feel that your organization has accomplished gender equality within its human resource department? Yes, the organization has accomplished in terms of gender equality as the study conducted by Nabil El-Sakka indicated that the relationship between the employees is variable. 

Are you confident of the leader-member exchange framework within the company? No, I strongly disagree with this since the relationship among the leaders is far from being good. The only confident ideology is that the employees have the advantage of better performance since the behaviors among certain employees can be handled by the human resource department in the help to have a comfortable working center.   

Has organization citizenship contributed to your diligence while working in the business? Yes, having recognition in many ways than one improves the level of business relationships. According to the P-O fit, compatibility on the basis of having a good working space is optimal.

Do you feel the company can improve its employee relation? Yes, the company can improve the employee relationship by having a leader-employee which is a focus for success. Having a leader who has established a good relationship with employees will increase the productivity of the organization.

Are comfortable with the rate of employee turnover within the company? No, the rate of employee turnover has increased exponentially and this is a drastic move that could see the business moving to the wrong direction real quick. 

References

El-Sakka, N. (2016): The relationship between Person-Organization Fit, burnout, and turnover     Intention among CIC academic staff.

GRAVETTER, F. J., & WALLNAU, L. B. (2009). Statistics for the behavioral sciences. Belmont, CA, Wadsworth.

Mumtaz Ali Memon1 , Rohani Salleh2 , Mohamed Noor Rosli Baharom3 and Haryaani Harun4: Person-Organization Fit and the Turnover Intervention. Department of Management and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak,          Malaysia

Zappos.com Case Study

Zappos as a shoe company was determined to provide its customers with the best shoes. This move therefore allowed the company to be able to focus its efforts on customer service. This was therefore the best thing which allowed the company to be able to attract a lot of customers. This is majorly because, most customers tend to like the services offered by the company, before becoming loyal customers (David, 4). The proper customer service offered by the company therefore became an advantage to the company, as it was able to offer the services which other companies could not be able to offer.

In addition, Zappos was an online company existing in the 90’s and it therefore faced less competition. The company’s culture therefore became one of the company’s core determiners of performance in the years to come. The culture of trying to impress each and every person that the company comes into contact with, was one of the best strategies which the company used in order to be able to beat its competitors (David, 4). This is basically because, the company was able to attract the attention of most people, through engaging them into the online website, a move which consequently makes people to spread positive information regarding the company through the word of mouth.

Secondly, the company decided to come up with a toll free customer care number, which the customers could be able to call in case of any questions or concerns. This was one of few company’s which had a toll free number, and it therefore made it easier for most customers to be able to call the customer care in case of any issues (David, 4). In addition, most customers felt attracted to the company, as it was ready to solve their problems, through allowing them to call the company for free at any time.

In order for the company to be able to beat its competitors which were the brick-and-mortar stores, it had to first and foremost understand their strength and weaknesses. This therefore allowed Zappos to be able to come up with solutions to the possible ways of growing the company, through beating its main competitors (David, 5). Zappos was an online company, and it was therefore supposed to work very hard in order to be able to beat brick-and-mortar stores. Zappos came up with different approaches of winning over the customers, which included the following. Providing a wide product information, offering free returns, maintaining a call center and offering free overnight shipping.

These strategies allowed the company to have a competitive advantage as compared to brick-and-mortar stores which could not be able to offer such services (David, 6). Zappos was able to provide wide information on its website, concerning the ways through which customers could be able to get the best shoes. This consequently allowed the customers to rely on the company, as it acted as their shoes advisors. Maintaining a call center, was also another thing which most customers were in need of, since brick-and-mortar stores could not offer such services. This consequently allowed the customers to ask questions, particularly new customers regarding the purchase and shipment of their products.

            Offering free returns was also a very good strategy which the company had employed, as it allowed it to be able to enable the customers to feel at ease particularly when the shoes they purchased could not fit them (David, 5). This allowed the customer to be able to see the company as caring, hence becoming loyal customers. Finally, offering free overnight shipment consequently allowed most customers to be able to buy shoes from the website, in order to get free shipments at night. This consequently attracted most customers, since brick-and-mortar stores did not offer delivery services to the customers.

            The key elements of Zappos were the fit and return policy, online product information, the call center and free delivery of shoes (David, 7). These elements were the main drivers of development within the organization, as they enabled it in being able to create a wide market share. The fit and return policy was very significant for the company, as it allowed most customers to be able to get the right shoes which could be able to fit them. This was therefore a move which was aimed at ensuring that the customers get themselves the right shoes. The production of online information, was basically important for the company, as it could be able to provide different images of the shoes to the customers, as they would be able to view it in a store. Moreover, it also provided them with information concerning the right types of shoes for their legs.

            Free delivery of shoes, was a strategy which was aimed at increasing the company’s market share. Most customers would therefore order different types if shoes, so that those which could not fit them, could be returned (David, 8). The free delivery therefore allowed the customers’ who ordered a lot of shoes to find themselves even purchasing more shoes. In order for Zappos to effectively maximize its services, it needed a call center. The call center was therefore responsible for allowing the customers to ask the questions they had, and to also find out more about the company. In addition, the company had a section where customers could comment, thus allowing other customers to review the comments in order to understand the types of services offered by the company.

            Zappos worked with different companies in order for it to be able to offer better services to its customers. The company therefore decided to take orders from the customers, whereby it would then send the information to the shoe manufacturer, after which the shoe manufacturer could be able to deal with the customers (David, 10). This move was however faced with a lot of challenges, since the shoe manufacturing companies could take a longer period of time in delivering the products to the customers. Zappos was consequently forced to start its own inventory, whereby it decided to change its ways of conducting different services.

            Zappos started selling the shoes directly to its customers, a move which allowed it to be able to attract and retain more customers (David, 14). This approach allowed Zappos to sell the products to customers directly, hence retaining its culture of impressing the employees. On the other hand, Zappos started acquiring new online websites, where it was able to sell and market a lot of products. Zappos systems of operations had to change from time to time, in order to allow the company to be able to effectively measure the effectiveness of different approaches. Moreover, the company also wanted to maintain its culture, hence being able to saturate the American market.

                                                                    Work Cited     

David Hoyt. Zappos.com: Developing a Supply Chain to Deliver WOW! STANFORD Graduate School of Business. 2011. Print.

GREEN GUARD CARE case study

 There is need for further analysis on since a myriad if reasons can be the reason for the rise in visits.  Such an analysis could go a long way in exploring whether the increased visits are due to factors that can be mitigated at the Arc Electric visits. The management of Green Guard Care will explore ways in which can get approach the Arc management to detect any kind of malpractice by their employees which could be causing the higher cases of physician visits. Further analysis to determine whether there is more enrolment of employees in the program. In case of such a scenario, there would be a need to enter into new negotiations with the Arc management on revision of the terms of the contract.  In addition, the increased need among the employees to remain healthy means that the management can negotiate on health care providers for less payment as the number of physician visits increases. Reducing costs will lead to improvement in profits (Barnes, 2001).  This means that cost could be reduced on reimbursements to physicians who participate in the insurance plan offered by Green Guard.

The profit for physician’s visits is bound to be less than that of hospital and surgical services since there is a higher increase in cost associated with more physicians visits between July and august .

Hospital and surgical services – 55 % = 137.5

Physicians visits – 30 % = 75

Others – 15 % = 37.5

The allocation for $250 premium is not reasonable given that there is a continuous increase in cost of all services offered by the health care plan.  The two months utilization indicates that the premium per visit should be increased so as to cater for the cost and a reasonable profit margin.

Reference

Barnes, D. (2001). Understanding business: processes. Psychology Press.

 Euro Disneyland case study

Diagnosis

Disney has experienced a lot of challenges in its years of operation. A good example is the case where Philippe Bourguignon took over from Fitzpatrick as the company’s president. After taking over, the company experienced a loss of FFr 188 million in the Euro Disneyland project in 1992. Also, the company believed that hiring a French president would increase the number of French visitors and that they would account for half of the population that visited the park. However, only 29 percent of the visitors were French. Furthermore, the company had to cut ticket prices when the number of visitors dropped to 10 million which was lower than the 11 million visitors expected (Krishna, n.d). There were other problems that existed during the process to construct Euro Disney. French citizens were against the location chosen for the park, others were against the characters used in Disney entertainment such as Mickey Mouse with claims that it promoted individualism in a country that encouraged communalism and considered the Americans as being neo-provincial. Farmers were against the park as it would require them to sell their land and be relocated elsewhere to create space for the park. There were objections from the confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) which was against the bill allowing Disney to control the flexibility of employee’s working hours out of concern that employees may be mistreated. Their concerns were raised by the rules governing employee way of dressing, type of hairstyle and jewelry among other attributes.  The rules were against the French culture of privacy and individualism and this created more problems for the company (Krishna, n.d).

Even after construction of Euro Disneyland, there were challenges involved in the way various guests behaved while in the park. In the case where visitors were served with ribs as they enjoyed a show, they found it difficult to eat and applaud at the same time forcing Disney to provide napkins and teach them how to stamp their feet as a way of applause. Also, the French were reluctant to queue and often cut in between lines causing a lot of commotion and problems while accessing various facilities in the park (Krishna, n.d).  The challenges experienced before, during and after construction of the park revealed one major problem, Euro Disneyland had failed to take into consideration the culture of the market they were trying to enter and this made it extremely difficult for the park to enjoy the success it had in other areas.

Solution

Locals have a high uncertainty avoidance ration and the conflict is as a result of fearing the unknown. Other than their collectivism culture, their culture has a lot of femininity as they are more concerned on the overall well being of each other and the quality of life than on wealth. As a solution, the company will alter its organizational culture to make it formal and informal. Through this, the company will be able to understand what is acceptable in its area of operation as well as which practices are acceptable and which are not. A guided missile culture will be ideal as it is in line with the communalism culture in Disney’s target market (Doh & Luthans, n.d).

Action

1. Probing for the cultural dimension

Since lack of understanding the culture of Euro Disneyland’s market is the cause for lack of cooperation between the company and the local residents, the resolution process will start by identifying the differences in culture that exist between the company and its target market. This will ensure that the company does not disrespect the people’s customs and traditions and that they in return will feel obliged to either work or visit the park (Doh & Luthans, n.d).

2. Identify a mediator

After the difference in culture between the company and its target market has been identified, the company will then identify a mediator to assist in repairing the relationship between all parties involved. Since the locals already view Americans as intruders, the mediator will come from their side as a show of trust and willingness to do things their way. The goal will be to show that Disney is willing to learn the cultural practices of the locals so as to operate in a way that is respectful to them (Doh & Luthans, n.d). 

3. Clarify the problem

The challenges that Euro Disneyland is experiencing is as a result of its lack of considering the culture of the locals. Because of failing to take into account the cultural beliefs and traditions of the French, the locals feel as if they are being violated and that the company is disrespecting their culture. As a result, they have boycotted against its policies such as employee working hours and uniform. The problem is not that Disney has moved in to the area but rather because it failed to acknowledge the traditional customs and beliefs of the locals (Doh & Luthans, n.d).

4. Explore solutions

A solution based on changing Disney’s approach in opening up Euro Disneyland and the attitude towards the local’s culture will go a long way in repairing the relationship between the park and the company. One way to achieve this is by adopting a regiocentric predisposition whereby the company will consider blending its interests with that of the people in its region of operation. To enhance the success of this approach, channels of communication will be opened and the message being communicated will be structured in such a way that it is understood as intended by all parties involved. Indirect message method will be used since the relationship with the locals is already tense but caution will be taken to ensure that the message is clear. A personal style of communication will be adopted to reduce the barrier between Disney and the locals (Doh & Luthans, n.d).

5. Implement agreed resolution

Changing the existing company culture for a more regiocentric predisposition will serve as a n ideal solution to the cultural problem experienced by the company. Implementation will be achieved through training employees on the company culture as well as the culture of the French and teach them how to blend the two. Due to the difference in the two cultures, trainers from both sides will be employed to educate on the relevant cultures as well as how to ensure that there is no conflict. Since training will be the only stage in the implementation plan that will require capital, the cost for the overall solution will be affordable and convenient to the organization (Doh & Luthans, n.d).

Evaluation

            The conflict in culture has created a system where French visitors have a negative attitude towards Euro Disneyland or they do not know how to carry themselves while in the park. This has caused various issues of protest, decline in sale, low French visitors and conflicts when accessing the park. Evaluation will therefore involve observing the sales made by the park, the percentage of visitors attributed to the French and the level of conflict resolved in the park. An increase in sale and a high French visitor percentage will indicate good relationship with the locals. A decline in conflicts will mean that the locals agree with the changes brought about by the new company culture and that they are comfortable with the park’s operation in the area.

References

Doh P and Luthans F, (n.d) “International management: Culture, strategy and behavior”

Krishna S, (n.d) “In-Depth integrative case 2.1a: Euro Disneyland”

Case study: Ingham’s Cardiff Plant Closure

Part I

Question 1

In my opinion  the  manner in  which the  company’s  management  consulted the employees  and the union  in the closure  announcement  is inappropriate. The  parties as required  where not  consulted  by the management  while the  decision was been designed  since they  were  only exposed  to the  announcement  of the closure. The news was devastating both to the union and the staffs  as the  closure  of  the  plant  unemployed around 350 workers  thus  destroying the involved  families and the community  within (Connel, 2016).  It is not worth to state that the employee’s obligations will be met after giving a direct announcement that did not engage the parties in negotiations.

The management acted in inconsiderate way when it called for the employees an hour prior to the end of their shift thus informing them about the destructive decision.  It is  quite  obvious that the plant  is  one of the most  expensive ones  to run  based on its  production  capacity, number  of employees  and activities  but the consultation  was  wrong.  The announcement astonished the workers since they stated it as a comprehensive surprise which was not anticipated (Connel, 2016). Even after  the caused distraught the  company  attempted  to  direct the staffs  back to their shifts  by the  directory was  withheld after facing much opposition.  The  union  should have been informed  prior  which would have  facilitated prior  negotiations  since the employees rights  were being  violated.  The directive was only developed by the management with zero consultation which can be categorized as wrong. The workers and the union were simply placed on the dark side about the closure preparations despite the fact that it seems clear in regard to the designing of the decision.  The decision  must have been  generated  from extensive evaluation  which led  to the option of dumping the staffs who  have generated  billions  for the  plants in the 40 year operation period (Watt, 2016).

Question 2

Social  call  implies to  a visit to  an  acquaintance  with  pure social  intentions that are not  related  to business.  This is a traditional expression strategy that is made in order to make announcement of some decisions (Aquinas, 2010).  In this case  it means that  the announcement made to the employees of the Cardiff  plant  by its management  is  one that  can be  categorized  as social  rather  than connected  to business.  This consultation with the employees was only intended at accomplishing the pleasure intention of the corporation since its business relations with the staffs had to end.  In the case since the corporation has been a professional giant it can simply imply that the company had the ability to run and overcome its issues since they already own the market and its chain is well equipped (Watt, 2016).  The call  for the closure  is just an  inappropriate  one  that  only  generates  pleasure  rather  than  any of its  business relations  charges. The call should have been based more on business rather than pleasure since the company was benefiting from the efforts of the employees.  Employees are the most essential item in business and should always be accounted while decisions are being made (Aquinas, 2010).

Question 3

The union and the plant’s management settled for the advisory of the employees by assuring that the management would meet their obligations (Smyth, 2016).  In addition the union argued that the  assertion that the company  would  stay committed  to  a close working with the staffs to assist them in establishing  fresh opportunities  inside or  within the  sector  was irrelevant (Smyth, 2016). This is  because  the union  said that  giving them opportunities within the firms would not  be effective since the  other  plants are  located far  meaning that accessibility  would be an issue for  them. In  addition,  most of the workers are  over the age  of 45 which means that  it would be  challenging to secure them opportunities outside the organization  since they  will  be categorized  as less productive. The  management  stated  that is  appreciate  the efforts made  by its loyal  staffs  for the corporation and  it would  help them through  the  tough period.  In addition the decision  was well  reviewed  and  its  impact on the community  and the employees was highly recognized and  closure  is their  only existing option (Cook, 2016).

Part II

Reflection

Apparently, it is clear that the decision made by the plant’s management directly caused harm to the loyal employees as well as the community in general.  The plan should have been communicated earlier enough to prepare all the involved parties who are the employees and their respective unions. The late consultation was in appropriate as it caused more disappointments and opposition to the dedicated staffs. This therefore, makes the call to be a social one that was only objected at fulfilling the needs of the company without much consideration of the staffs.  According to Secord & Secord, (2003), Employees must always be considered as the productive and separate entity that adds much value to the wellness of the company.  Despite the fact that  the company  was facing  a decrease  on  its production  the needs of the staffs  should have been aligned  with  those of the organization  as  a part  of  responsibility. Dumping such a heavy  workforce generally  calls for  increased  negotiations  amid the  organization and the union  to settle for  more  beneficial decisions.  However,  this  was  not there since  the management  made  an intensive evaluation  of its general plans while  the other  parties  remained in the  dark. This  is something  that  benefits only  the corporation  as the larger entity  while neglecting  the  necessities  of  the employees but  its  commitment to meeting all their obligations  can be appreciated.

            References

Aquinas, P. G. (2010). Human resource management. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.

Connel, T. (2016). Union Slams Ingham’s For Wrong Call to Close Cardiff Plant. Retrieved from http://www.theherald.com.au/story/3959424/inghams-wrong-on-plant/

Cook, T. (2016). Australian Poultry Processor Ingham to Close Cardiff Plant. Retrieved from https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/06/23/ingh-j23.html

Owen, B & Connel, T. (2016). Ingham’s To Close Cardiff Plant, More Than 200 Jobs  To Go. Retrieved from http://www.theherald.com.au/story/3956246/inghams-to-close-cardiff-plant-more-than-200-jobs-to-go-photos-poll/

Secord, H., & Secord, H. (2003). Implementing best practices in human resources management. Toronto: CCH Canadian.

Smyth, G. (2016). Ingham Thought Long and Hard About Cardiff Closure. Retrieved from http://www.nbnnews.com.au/2016/06/08/ingham-thought-long-and-hard-about-cardiff-closure/

Watt, A. (2016). Ingham’s Closing Plant in Australia, Invests in Others. Retrieved from http://www.wattagnet.com/articles/27254-inghams-closing-plant-in-australia-invests-in-others

Ashley Community Housing Case Study

Leadership Style

Ashley Community Housing provides housing services to homeless persons particularly refugees as it perceives them as a beneficial asset rather than being liabilities. Ashley Community Housing Corporation is good in paying attention and listening to the needs of their customers as it has even received an official complement based on their services (English, 2006). However, the company is in need of developing a team that will improve their services. This, therefore, necessitates the implementation of an effective leadership style which in this case will be relationship oriented leadership.  Leaders involved in relationship oriented are more focused on motivating, supporting and improving team’s relations as well as performance. This is the type of leadership that the corporation needs as it promotes good collaborations, teamwork, positive associations and improved communication (Eriksson-Zetterquist, Müllern & Style, 2011). 

The corporation deals with individuals with persons who need emotional and physical attention and therefore good relations and effective communication is a necessity. The kind of leadership was chosen for the scenario because it is focused on the general welfare of every individual and allocates adequate time to meet the needs of every group.  In order for the corporation to provide better services to the clients listening is a necessity which cannot be achieved if the employees are not motivated. The leadership holds the understanding that the generation of high and positive production necessitates an environment that is positive to drive individuals. This strategy eradicates the occurrence of conflict, boredom, and dissatisfaction is not present thus improving services (Nicholas & Steyn, 2008).

SWOT Analysis

Strength

From the case, the strengths held by the corporations have lies on its good reputation, increased refugees and stability. The company’s services are well known since it’s highly recommended for providing positive and close relations services to the consumers.  In addition due to the high movement of immigrants, the company has a wider market to practice the business.

Weaknesses

The prime weakness is the lack of support by both the public as well as the private sectors which reduce the cases for the clients to get houses. The necessity to develop better relations with authorities is a challenge which they highly require to explore for expansion.

Opportunities

There are opportunities for the corporation since the community housing industry is characterized by less competition based on its sensitivity. This, therefore, means that the company can easily persuade as well as convince clients in growing its establishment in the industry.

Threats

The corporation deals with a sensitive and a diversified culture and thus the market may not be constant. It is not easy to predict the future of the market with the current measures that are being implemented by the state to curb immigration and the moving in of refugees.

PESTEL Macro Environment Forces

Ashley community housing is currently working in a situation where the government is strict on the movements of refugees.  In addition, the government does not offer much support to its operations which slows it down.  The policies implemented in acquiring houses for refugees are however challenges and these impacts the running of the corporation since most of the clients holds fewer chances on acquiring houses. The economic environment of the state is, however, favorable to the operations of the corporation since the interest’s rates for acquiring houses are favorable.  The growth rate is high but the employment level for the clients is low thus resulting into low incomes which are inadequate to acquire houses.  This results in the fluctuations of houses prices due to the low demand and consumption rate.

The country holds a negative attitude towards the particular group which is the refugees as the corporation’s target market.  Refugees to most people are termed as liabilities rather than an asset since they depend on more assistance to attain stability.  This, therefore, requires the corporation to develop better relations with authorities to offer the persons with employment chances.  The infrastructure level is adequate in the industry which makes it favorable to conduct business. The environment offers the best setting for the business but the ability to be effective is hindered by unfavorable regulatory policies.

Porter's Five Forces

There is low competition rivalry in the market since the company is well established and fewer firms are engaged in the industry.  However, the substitute’s products are high since most of the refugees opt for rentals which are characterized by less wait, regulations as well as disappointment.  This, therefore, results into the elasticity of the goods since the substitute’s houses are highly available and consumers have more choices to make. Price competition is, therefore, a major threat since the corporation is forced to offer services at reduced prices for sustainability.

The power of buyers can be regarded as strong since there is a higher concentration of consumers within the market and can affect the stability of the industry. However, the supplier power can be termed to be weak since there is high competition amid the private and public suppliers.  There are numerous and strict entry barriers into the community housing industry which affects the ability of firms to get into the market and this has resulted in the low competition.  This is crucial in the stabilization of profits for the corporation’s that are already engaged in the market.

            References

English, F. W. (2006). Encyclopedia of educational leadership and administration. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Eriksson-Zetterquist, U., Müllern, T., & Styhre, A. (2011). Organization theory: A practice-based approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Nicholas, J. M., & Steyn, H. (2008). Project management for business, engineering, and technology: Principles and practice. Amsterdam: Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann.

Jamba Juice Case

1. Identify and describe the biggest challenge facing Jamba Juice (JJ).

The main challenge facing Jamba juice is expansion of stores in different parts of the world, and poor marketing strategies. The company, which was under the control of Paul Clayton in the year 2008, started experiencing huge losses due to poor planning (Case 8, p. 39). The company aimed at owning different franchises in the country and thus making it hard to manage the franchises. Moreover, during the same period, the company had poor marketing strategies whereby it did not use mass media to advertise its products. Its main method of advertisements was the word of mouth. Even though the company provided products of high quality, mass media advertisement was very essential for the company, as it needed to acquire new customers and thus being able to increase its sales and realize huge profits.

The company basically focused on acquiring franchises which also led it to experience huge losses amounting to $228 million. This saw the company suffering and it had to close ten of its underperforming company owned stores. The rate at which the company was spending money was very high compared to rate at which the business was performing (Case 8, p. 40). Most of its profits were realized from royalties and not from the sale of the products. Furthermore, due to the changing seasons, the company experienced losses during the low seasons particularly in areas which had prolonged winter seasons such as California. The company came up with new ideas of launching new products which would earn it profit. The main problem was that the company could not be able to match its competitors such McDonalds and Starbucks simply because it had poor marketing strategies.

2. Identify and describe what specifically JJ should do to solve this problem.

In order for Jumbo juice to be able to solve their poor marketing and planning strategies, it should employ new technics in order to deal with the issue at hand. First and foremost, the company should come up with a better marketing strategy. This therefore means that the company should acquire new marketing strategies and this include mass media advertisement and social media marketing (Case 8, p. 41). Mass media advertisement will not only help the company to acquire new customers, but it will also create brand awareness and thus affecting the company positively. Moreover, social media marketing will really help in creating traffic to the company and thus increase the sales of the company. This will therefore see the company realizing huge profits and thus being able to benefit from its sales.

3. Provide sufficient support for the strategy you articulated by utilizing appropriate analytical tools.

Mass media marketing and social media marketing are the best ways through which the company can be able to acquire new customers since it has the following strengths.

The company will increase sales through acquiring new customers

The company will also have traffic and thus be able to realize profits

These creates brand awareness and thus making it easy for most people to know about the company’s products (Case 8, p. 43).

These marketing strategies also have the following weaknesses.

Mass media marketing is very expensive and no sales are guaranteed.

Social media marketing also depends on the types of brands that the company is competing with.

These marketing strategies have the following opportunities.

More customers will be driven to the company’s brand.

The company can change its face to the customers.

The company will also reduce the losses.

Threats that the marketing strategies are likely to face.

Poor target market might be attracted to the company.

Criticism from the social media which could reduce the traffic (Case 8, p. 46).

Work Cited

Case 8. Jamba Juice: Lumpkin, Eisner, McNamara, Strategic Management, McGraw Hill Education, 7t

            Under Armour Case Study

Under Amour experienced   stiff domestic competition from Adidas and Nike Corporation.  The competitive domestic rivalry was the major issue of Under Amour when the case was written.  The competition was mainly subjected by two major and large rivals in the industry namely Nike and Adidas (Subramanian, Ram, and Gopalakrishna, 4). The two rivals owned   large market share portions thus resulting in high competition in the market.  Nike   subjected the corporation to more rivalry because it held a market segment of more than 7% followed by Adidas which holds a portion of 5.4% of the general share in the market (Griffin, 274).  Under Armour  lacked  shirts cooling patent  which  provided the corporation with  much pressure  based  on the easiness’  of  the capability  to recreate  products that assisted in developing the name of the competitors by the competitors.  In addition, when the company was able to establish  a stable market  for shirts  other corporations began  to  invest in the market  too through taking advantage of the created chances  of gaining more consumers who had not  yet been  attained  by Under Amour. This issues affected the company’s performance as its ability to gain consumers was reduced thus resulting in lowered sales (Griffin, 275). If the issue of domestic competition is not addressed with the use of strategic approaches the company may lose financial ability to sustain its operations.

This is because the competitors and the corporation hold many similarities in that they are all involved in the production of, equipment, apparel, sports footwear as well as   sporting accessories. This means that the corporation may be thrown out of the market as   consumers are more likely to be loyalty to   established companies.  With the changing trends, the issue of domestic competition can best be solved suing effective marketing approaches. Consumer segment and value is a major determining factor in a corporation’s success and thus losing consumer relation for the corporation may result in a loss of its domestic market segment (Griffin, 278).

Work Cited

Griffin, Ricky W. Management. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2017. Print.

Subramanian, Ram and Gopalakrishna, pradeep. Under amour. Society for case research and authors, 2012. Pdf.

CASE STUDY 11

1. By factoring in all the demands of the clients and gratifying them, Sears rose to be a recognizable retailer in the US.
2. Nevertheless, market myopia could not allow the retailer to last any longer. They were resentful by the look of tremendous market dominance. The inclination of sticking to old strategist whilst the industry is changing happens to be one of the contributing factors for the colossal downfall. And, despite reports of bad feedback management did not act faster to counter the situation.
3. Sears strategies aimed to propel unfortunately are old systems which worked back in the day and in accordance with the market, you cannot fail to capture the timeframe hindrances. The challenges facing the company are even far much worse than the former, self-infliction for no apparent reason.
4. What used to be a resemblance of the American lifestyle is no more, market trends is not something to defy when the real stumbling is on the horizon. Basically, it will cost a lot to salvage if by any chance there is still hope.
5. With the rise of automobile game, sadly their might be no other palatable opportunity for sear to fully recover the building and cities have changed too since the famous old Chicago moments. Once a retailer and now operating as hedge fund then maybe we might see sound market locus
6. One potential hope is optimizing online sales, transforming from the retail stores to widely catering and provision of value (Mesa, 1). Remember customers will always go for convenience and that ultimately mean restructuring and strategizing.
7. Unlike Lowe who were vibrant and kept on moving towards the market forces sears did not see the brighter side in this. And, consequently up to the recent past Lowe was ranked one of the best for satisfying home appliances clientele base (Mesa, 1).

Work cited

Mesa C. Lowe’s ranks highest in customer satisfaction with appliance. McGraw Hill Financial, 2016. print. Retrieve from http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/jd-power-2016-appliance-retailer-satisfaction-study

Case 34.1 Food Regulation

United States v. Gel Spice Co., Inc

Gel Spice Company and its president Barry Engel are guilty of the 10 accounts under criminal prosecution of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act enacted by the FDA. The company was accused of various foods handling accounts that saw the shipped spice for resale in New York warehouse being exposed to contamination of the rodent filth (Cheeseman, 2014). The food was adulterated and the food handling was in sanitary conditions that become contaminated with filth in all counts of the rodent excreta pellets, rodent hair, rodent urine, and rodent gnawing. The company was is guilty as it did not meet the standards of food sanitation. It is at most good faith to protect the interest of the public through responsible management which the FDA proved that the consumers’ interests were not upheld (Cheeseman, 2014).

Despite numerous investigations by the government the situation was found to be the same in the Gel Spice warehouse. However, Gel Spice had argued that the information was the three inspections carried out by the government were in bad faith. This is however not true because Gel Spice had a history of non-compliance and the subsequent findings proved the evidence trail was in good faith. It is true to say that the food preparation and packaging was held in insanitary conditions and there was a reasonable possibility of it to be contaminated by the rodent filth (Cheeseman, 2014).  The president Barry Engel of Gel Spice Company should be held personally responsible for his brother Andre Engel the Vice President for all the accounts. This is because they are supposed to exercise the responsibility of conducting the business the right way as they were in a position of power and they had the authority to prevent, detect and correct the violation of the Act. The vice president also failed to prove that he was powerless to prevent the rodent infestation hence a strong ground for holding him responsible (Cheeseman, 2014). This is supported by the fact that Barry Engel admitted that he was solely responsible for the plant sanitation and that he controlled hiring and the firing of the outside exterminators.

Reference

Cheeseman, H. R. (2014). Contemporary business law and online Commerce Law.Prentice Hall ISBN: 978-0-133-57816-4

Business Law Case Study

            Question 1

            In the presented scenario, it is clear that the CFO, as well as the CEO requirements of certification needs, will pose great potential outcome in decreasing the fraud conduct of the corporation (Cheeseman, 2014).  Sarbanes- Oxley 2002 Act holds that the statute of the federal which established rules in developing corporation governance, fraud prevention, and addition of corporation’s operations transparency.  This can thus be reinforced by Sarbanes- Oxley 2002 Act which is developed primarily to prevent the occurrence of deceptive actives because the act contains an accurate and clear corporate governance operations transparency. This rule is therefore objected at preventing the occurrence of moral and behaviors that are characterized by fraud (Cheeseman, 2014).  The requirements will help in reducing the chances of fraud occurrence in the corporation by reducing any possibility of inaccuracy or misunderstanding in all the corporate operations.  In addition, the limitations of providing accurate information in regard to the corporation’s organization by both CFO and the CEO will be eradicated.

Question 2

            It is thus certain that Sarbanes- Oxley 2002 Act will encourage more moral behaviors from both the directors and officers of the corporation.  The act will additionally promote moral behaviors through providing a strong control surrounding.  An organization that portrays strong governance provides ethical values, discipline and a developed employee’s structure that helps the rest to emulate the behaviors (Cheeseman, 2014).  Moral behaviors will additionally be promoted by the act through documentation improvement. This will help in developing responsibilities as a very employee will be accountable for their individual actions.  Increasing transparency will eliminate fraud activities and in turn encourage moral actions through engaging in activities that are objected at benefiting the corporation and not individual’s interests. Processes standardization is another model that shows how the act will promote ethical conduct (Cheeseman, 2014).

            Reference

Cheeseman, H.R. (2014). Contemporary Business and Online Commerce Law. Prentice Hall, 8^th Edition.

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

Skullcandy Inc case study

Skullcandy Inc. typically creates world-class audio experience via the Astro Gaming and Skullcandy brands. The company creates both gaming and audio products for risk takers, pioneers, as well as innovators who assists inspiring to live at full volume (Melissa, 2013). From new innovations in the science of human and sound potential, to collaborations with coming musicians or athletes, this company lives by its mission of inspiring life at full potential through forward thinking ideas and technologies which fosters materialization and edge design (Ghuman & Aswathappa, 2010).

On the other hand, in terms of development, it is widely acknowledged that majority of the business entrepreneurs do straggle with the main objective of maintaining the economies of scale since it is the main driver of economic development (Karami, 2007). With it, it means new business opportunities realized are used in introducing innovations into the market, secure competiveness of the economy through creating new jobs.

In other words, the forward-looking objective of this company is related to the general consummation of the tender offer or merger and any associated benefits of the acquisition through the Incipio of Skullcandy. It is will be relied on available information regarding its current expectations, assumptions and forecasts as well as the involved number of risks which may occurs in the long-run (Melissa, 2013). Moreover, some forms of uncertainties which have the potential of causing actual results may differ materially from those expected through the company’s forward looking statement. 

Nevertheless, such uncertainties and risks are coupled with various factors of which some of them are beyond the control of the management authority. In particular, the risks which one or more closing circumstances to the transactions of the company may not be waived or satisfied on a timely basis. This is to say that due to the fact that there might be some sort of material patters arising from the management authority’s efforts, there is the need of satisfying the approval of the set objective of its establishment with regard to the economies of scale or the level of its competitors in the industry (Karami, 2007).

Without having that in mind, the activities of this firm may in return incur some unexpected costs, delays, or liabilities which are accompanied by adverse impact of viable product announcements i.e. operating performances and revenues, changes in demand of the company’s product, changes in inventories pricing and gross margin pressure, control of expenses and the general loss of customers.

The annual report of the 10-K also illustrates that the significant litigation, with regard to the intellectual property matters for instance risk associated disposition and acquisition, more especially those linked with international operations, affects matters relating to labor and employment in the company.  In addition to that, the shift in accepted accounting principles and the increase in new regulations of the corporate disclosure and governance standards affects the projected outcomes of this company (Ghuman & Aswathappa, 2010).

With respect to the above considerations, it should be noted that the company operates internationally or domestically. The brand of the company is what symbolizes rebellion and youth which in turn embodies its motto. Seemingly, it is the technology data analytic retailers and brands which aid in monitoring the nature of competition available in the industry hence making it easier to track its rivals (Stokes, 2011). This is to say that it assists in measuring how customer brand gauge up against the competitors.

Social or technological growth with regard to the extensive use of the mobile devices as well as increasing disposable income will be projected as the major driver of the industry revenue growth hence necessitating the need of having a strong management authority which will assists in rebuilding the team or the employees’ morale.  This is because, success is all about obtaining individual workers who are engaged in producing amazing products or telling stories relating to the core competencies of the company (Stokes, 2011). Consequently, it is through these parameters that the consumers will be in the position of connecting passionately with the company’s brand and products. Rebuilding the base i.e. the values, culture and people, is one of the strategies which will enhance the production of remarkable products or emotional and authentic connection with the clients hence inevitably producing sound decision making and financial results.

In connection to that, value chain analysis R&D together with innovations or inventions at the forefront of the mission of this company continues to expand its technological base and research pursuits. This is to imply that its mission still comes to life via an in-house product development team or the availability of human potential labs which is basically a program which seeks in understanding how science, music, and technology can be used in unlocking human potential in the current economic world (Stokes, 2011). The other fact is that when it comes to issue of capturing the essence of the youths, culture, as well as explosive intersection of customer needs, creativity is the main factor which defines its culture. In the process of understanding the motivating factors for online purchases or making it easier for clients to shop all of the products they want, when and want it comes as the diver of its profound success (Melissa, 2013). This is usually true when it comes to the dominance in the world online retail. 

Nevertheless, since selling online might have appeared to be a right choice, everyone recognizes the fact that in case the company was to sell to its targeted demographic group, it had to meet them where they are, which a social matter, and then motivate or take them where it desired them to go.  This is to say that since the company had already spent his resources as the driving force for the digital innovation i.e. advertising, meeting the current requirements of the customers cannot be a strain to digital marketing (Ghuman & Aswathappa, 2010). There ought to be a diversified system in place which makes it easier for its fans to engage with the products through making instantaneous purchasing decisions. Anything beyond that scale means that there is the likelihood of losing the sale. Similarly, since the objective of this company is to ensure that its customers are well informed about its products it is expected that information is relayed to them in the most convenient way so that the purchasing process remains to be faster and friction-free.

Although this was a major step in the right direction, the team was still learning about performance issues and problems from their customers. Without any proactive real time performance monitoring and management tools, they simply were not able to see what was going on real time (Kakkar, 2009).

With regard to its daily economic activities, the Skullcandy is much careful in branding and savvy expansion. The products of the company (headphones), is much preferred because of its extensive focus on technology that is combined hand-free cellular techniques.  The management authority realizes this real strength as a fashionable concept for their brand.

Workers always race down the corridors of the boards which the objective of keeping focuses on the lifestyle hence pumping energy into the product brand.

On the contrary, as much has the company has expanded into massive retailers for instance Bet Buy and Target; it has turned down numerous retailers. The reason for this is because the management wasn’t ready to diminish the edge of their brand thus making it to be available in various places. This is usually as a result of there much forecast on inventory. It is noted that the company does not keep too much inventory on hand as well as ensuring that there is not shortages necessitates the use of money in delivering them to the customers (Kakkar, 2009). This gives it a strategic ability of ensuring that the client gets the products quicker hence maintaining the company brand.

The biggest challenge which has somehow become persistent is the need of associating new product development in three different developmental cycles at the same time. So as to ensure that this is overcome, the company ensures that its brand name is becoming well recognized and its products are made available in an ever broad range of outlets. This means that the investors will also be more concerned i.e. assessing the performance of the company so as to determine whether their funds were wisely invested. Besides that, even though its revenues have been increasing considerably, competition also lowers the net margin (Trent, 2007).

With respect to the general competencies of the company, the style trends and functionality in headphones is relatively easier to quickly imitate. Therefore, the major source of this competitive advantage is the extensive development of the brand loyalty amongst clients and distributors (Weske, 2012).  Equally, the informal and small size atmosphere at Skullcandy ensures that there is still a close contact between members and their team and other personnel within the enterprise. Such deep connections in skateboarding and snowboarding words assist to the lining up of endorsement of funds.

In matter relating to promotion, the continuous use of social media for instance facebook, Twitter, You Tube and Instagram have greatly improved the image of its products to customers through encouraging them to continued buying them. This then is to say that, the former category of the company’s product has the advantage of accessing and maintaining greater financial base and distribution of resources hence enjoying the economies of scale in return (Weske, 2012).  Finally, by considering the strategies used for the sake of fine-tuning their own market entry, it is then vivid that the latter has extensively benefited from its day to day economic activities

To sum up, management consulting is regarded as being one of the earliest instances of business outsourcing. With it firms and managers usually seek advice as well as support for various issues which are critical as the strategy for tabling procedural matters for instance taxation and accounting. Conversely, through the use consulting firms or consultants, majority of the business in the industry have remained to be prevalent for a long period hence no much research conducted on the same. The reason for this is because this strategies and practices of firms in the industry are viewed through the lenses of institutional entrepreneurship, organizational theories which assists in understanding the professional service firms

References

Melissa A. S, (2013). CASE 13: Skullcandy

Karami, A. (2007). Strategy formulation in entrepreneurial firms. Aldershot[u.a.: Ashgate.

Ghuman, K., & Aswathappa, K. (2010). Management: Concept, practice and cases. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.

Weske, M. (2012). Business process management: Concepts, languages, architectures. Berlin: Springer.

Stokes, P. (2011). Key concepts in business and management research methods.

Kakkar, Arjun. (2009). Small Business Management: Concepts & Techniques for Improving Decisions. Global India Pubns.

Trent, R. J. (2007). Strategic supply management: Creating the next source of competitive advantage. Ft. Lauderdale, FL: J. Ross Pub.