Strategic management of the firm in Malaysia - Admission/Application Essay Example

Strategic management of the firm in Malaysia Introduction In the case, scenario presented; a number of issues have affected successful launching of the product in Malaysia. These issues include ethical, operational, strategic and financial issues. Generally, they will affect the success of the firm and the operations of the involved departments. These issues are widely discussed below: Operational issues The operation department within the firm is the one involved in this scenario. The shipment that was expected to be received in Malaysia where the launching of that specific product was expected to happen. However, with the lost shipment, I am faced with a challenge as the head involved to ensure that the launch still happen in the expected time. The personnel involved in dispatching the samples that were to be presented during the launching session could not be tracked. In my view, the internal control system within the firm failed because the shipment could not be traced a few days to the launching event that was to occur in Malaysia. Hence, the firm needs to review its internal control systems and ensure they are functioning appropriately. To solve the issue now, I would advise the company in its headquarters to dispatch other samples and send them through services of other companies, which offer similar services to ensure that the launching does not fail. However, they must ensure that the tracking system is valid and operating as expected to ensure that the samples arrive on time. This might be costly to the management of the firm because it unforeseen expense. Moreover, the company should aim at redefining and ensuring that its internal control system works appropriately to avoid the occurrence of such a case in the future. Strategic issues Unexpected hitch has occurred in strategic planning of the company. Prior to the launching of the product in Malaysia, the firm ought to have ensured that everything is planned in advance. In addition, they needed to create a room for any inconvenience that would have occurred. Generally, strategic planning does not always involve coordinating and planning. Rather, it focuses on formulating strategies that will be implemented to ensure the well-being of the firm. In addition, the firm ought to have laid different strategies that would be implemented as in the situation at hand. Prior planning enables the management to discover and resolve any challenge that is bound to happen before the actual day and make the required changes (Dess, 1993). Ethical issues Advancement of technology in today’s world has led to the development of a number of things in our organizations. Mostly, technology has made work even easier that before. However, it has a number of shortcomings. In our case here, the management of the firm is trying to track the lost shipment but they are unable to. This is just one of the challenges that the latest technology applied in our organizations is facing. Therefore, the firm needs to put some measures into place to ensure that if a similar case occurs, it will be handled in a better manner. Financial issues The firm is set to incur a loss of revenue if the launching of the product does not occur at the expected time. This has been caused by failure of some departments within the firm. However, if the firm wants to save the situation and avoid this, it will have to incur an additional cost of using another service provider to ship in the samples to be displayed in the launching in Malaysia. In future, as the head involved, I will ensure that the firm invests in an effective control system in and out of the firm. This will help avoid similar mistakes in the future. Resolution to the issue at hand As the director of operation in the firm, I would resolve this by advising the management of the company to ship in other samples to Malaysia using the services providers who avail shipments within twenty-four hours. This will help to combat the tragedy of loosing revenue if the launching does not occur at the expected time in that specific country. However, the firm would be taking a risk on their finances because they are not assured that the samples will arrive on time. Additionally, using a different service provider does not mean one will get better services. In addition, additional cost will be incurred which was not budgeted earlier. This may lead to strain of resources in the firm because the firm is set to launch its products globally. Implementation of an appropriate strategy As the head of operations within the firm, this scenario really challenges me in different ways. This is because the top management of the firm depends on me to solve the issue in the fastest time possible. Further, they would not like a similar scenario to occur again in the future. Therefore, I would propose and advise the firm to put in place an appropriate internal control system within the firm. This would ensure all shipments that expected to be sent to different countries are tracked globally until they reach their expected destinations. In our scenario here, the shipment cannot even be traced due to the poor system in place. This indicates that the department concerned is not handling its expected roles and responsibilities I the right. Issuance of a warning to them to act on their roles would be appropriate to ensure that they take up their roles as expected. Further, the firm needs to lay better strategies on its expected operations globally. Proper planning within the operations and another department is very essential. If proper planning was done earlier in this scenario, the management would have realized that the shipment of the samples could not reach its destinations on time. Thus, possible solutions would have been formulated and implemented before the due date. To ensure that the launching of the firm’s product globally is successful, the management with my support and leadership will ensure that better strategies are formulated on the way forward to avoid his in the future. Further, all other involved departments need to wok and cooperate with each other. Additionally, effective communication and follow up within the firm is equally important. Consultation from experienced parties and other firms operating in the same market and those who face similar challenges would also add value to my work. Operating in a global market can be a great challenge as my first duties and the head of operations in the firm. My reaction in the worst-case scenario If the sample products and training materials did not reach the expected destination on time, it would lead to loss of revenue and sales to the firm. However, I would propose a number of ways in which the company can make up for this. Firstly, I would the firm to re-schedule the launching of their new product in Malaysia in their tight schedule. This would ensure that the region, rather the market is also attended to. This is because the country has the target population of the product that is set to be launched in due time. Through this, the firm will be able to make up their losses although they will be behind time in their calendar. Secondly, I would advise the firm to identify another country similar to Malaysia and launch the product there. However, it may take time to re-organize everything but finally it will eventually bore fruits. My recommendations In future, other in country managers may be faced with similar challenges. To me, this is a learning process since am new in this department. Therefore, in my position, I would advise the management of the company to set up the required internal control systems to track all shipments that the firm is dispatching globally. This system would ensure convenience and transparency of all activities that are happening within the firm. Further, with proper management and maintenance, all shipments will be tracked down all over the world Secondly, the strategic management department of the firm should make proper planning in all events that are bound to happen in the future. Early preparations of all events that include launching of different products globally should be done early enough to determine all the challenges and difficulties, which might come along before the actual event. I would also advise the management of the firm to be having options in case their first option fails. This will help avoid failure of events happening at the expected time Further, all employees in the firm should play their expected roles and responsibilities. This is because if everyone in the firm did his or her role as expected, the management would have discovered earlier that shipment could not be tracked on time. This should be enhanced through proper training and assessment in their different capacities in the firm. In addition, the top management should encourage the employees to communicate effectively and in time in order to prevent cases of failures that would cost the firm a whole fortune. With proper management and resources in the firm, the product launching globally will be a success. References Dess, G. G., & Miller, A. (1993). Strategic management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Read More