Effective Business Planning - Case Study Example

Effective Business Planning Effective business planning has become a necessary marketing competence for the success of any business organization. With dynamic internal and external market environments, the business market has become very competitive and organizations have to brand their corporate images to remain profitable within the market. Any business organization that fails to implement effective organizational strategies is inclined to experience market extinction. Mattel is one of the multinational organizations that have survived the wave of market extinction in a market full of challenges and unfriendly business competence. The organization has engaged effective organizational strategies by differentiating, developing effective marketing plans and penetrating the market through effective management of both people and resources. Mattel is a global toy manufacturing company that has numerous branches across the world. The company initially started with the goal of becoming a global leader in the toy manufacturing industry and to remain in this position indefinitely. However, the market environment is composed of many unpredictable limiting forces that act as barriers of market entrants and expose organization to severe business forces that threaten survival in this market (Dressler, 2004). Mattel’s experience environmental threats, competition, ethical challenges and market fluctuations that became big threats to its survival in the market. The ability of the organization to maintain its current position today can be attributed to its ability to overcome its challenges and take advantage of the opportunities in the market while still remaining innovative in a world of changing technology. Mattel was founded back in 1945 when its main product was picture frames on a retail basis. The company later turned to the toy industries after recognizing this as a better market with higher profits and more customers. In 1960, the company became a publicly owned company and its sales remained high making it maintains its position as the world’s largest toy company. The company now has its roots in design, manufacture and marketing of family products. The company owns more than 8 company brands and has differentiated to over 36 countries and now markets its products to over 150 nations. One of the strategies that Mattel has employed in surviving in the competitive market is the use resource and people management strategies. The company has remained strong in acquiring the right employees and leaders within the organization as one way of streamlining their operations. For instance, between the year 1998 and 2000, the company experienced a business setback after the organization had suffered weak leadership from the CEO Barad. During the three years, the organization was overwhelmed by poor resource management and the employees were dissatisfied with the leader. The company suffered severe losses as a consequence of unsatisfied employees and weak leadership (French, 2011).To remedy this, the organization demoted CEO Barad after he admitted his mistakes and installed Rober Eckert who streamlined the organization'sbusiness operations. Within the Eckert’s three years leadership, the organization experienced an increase in its stock price to over $20 per share.In this regard, the organizations ability to identify their weaknesses and mitigate them is one of the reasons for its success. The strength of this organization can also be attributed to its effective positioning strategy. The organization has consistently expanded through merger and acquisition as one way of gaining power within the market and increasing organizational capital. Secondly, the organization branding has assisted the organization to remain uniquely different from its competitors (Dressler, 2004).The organization's core products include Barbie, American girl and Hot wheels. All these brands make the organization a unique manufacturer that is concerned with the tastes and preferences of the target customers. In other words, the organization is able to study the demands of their potential customers and design products that best suit the tastes of the people. This kind of branding helps the organization to obtain the optimal number of customers within its region of sales and to remain within unique environments. Organizational planners regard the ability of an organization to understand the market through a rigorous market scanning as one way of rolling out products that are in demand in the market. The flexibility of the organization has made the organization remain within a higher bargaining end. For instance, when Barbie experienced a market slip due to the involvement of the multimedia and internet, the organization exhibited its flexibility by rolling out a new product that is more appealing and targets a wide range of customers. The strategic management to produce the “my scene dolls” attracted more customers within the market and allowed the internet users to access fun within their online presence framework on the web page designed by the management. This management decision was a sign of innovativeness that helped the organization to overcome the threat that was promising to push the Barbie product out of the market. The ability of management to remain creative in the market provides an organization with higher chances of survival. In its legal framework, the organization has found among its various legal challenges that have undermined its operations. For instance, the organization was found guilty of selling toys that have unsafe lead chemicals. Legal challenges suppress business operations and sometimes may cause losseson the manufactured products (Dressler, 2004). Since then, the management has deployed a strict compliance notice to its manufacturers that requires them to provide a compliance statement that attains the standards demanded by the Mattel’s global manufacturing principles. The ability of this organization to define a strong legal framework allows the organization to reduce any losses that may result from legal liabilities. However, the organization seems to be entangled in a series of ethical cases which may be hurting the organization. It would be recommendable for the organization to comply with the set legal standards to remain focused on their business development. Another strategy that has empowered Mettal is its ability to integrate technological innovation within its organizational framework. First, the organization has established an effective online presence by providing well developed websites that are user-interactive. The organization ensures user security for their customers. This is clearly indicated by the privacy policy that the organization provides within their online presence. This is an attractive feature, especially in a period when the society is becoming more conscious of security in its online business transactions. Remaining creative and implementing technological innovation within the course framework allows the organization to attract more customers into the network. In this view, the success of Mettal can be attributed to its superior strategic management skills. Although the organization has exhibited a lot of strength in its strategic management, the organization has suffered loss in many occasions. The slipping of the Barbie product is just one example of its failures. It would be crucial for the organization to have long term plans that would guarantee its products to survive amid the market fluctuations (Glader, 2006). For instance, it would be important for the organization to feature electronic dolls that would enable the young buyers to access the internet. This differentiation strategy would assist the organization to avoid being pushed out of the market due to the availability of alternative products in the market. Bibliography Dressler, S. 2004,Strategy, organization and performance management. Boca Raton (Fla.), Universal Publishers. French, R. 2011. Organizational behaviour. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Glader, M. 2006.Innovation markets and competition analysis EU competition law and US antitrust law. Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar Read More