Stilsim Corporation - Internal Strategy - Case Study Example

Stilsim Corporation: Internal Strategy Introduction: Stilsim Corporation performs a set of activities which are instrumental in helping individuals find the jobs that they want and then settle down to work to their utmost potential. These activities, in their totality can therefore be represented using the value chain, where value is attributed to worth of the individuals working for an organization or in other words the human capital of the organization. The value chain which displays total value of the firm comprises of vale activities and potential, where the value activities are the cell blocks which aid the human resource functions to create employee motivation and learning whereas potential is the natural and inherent capability of an individual which may be developed through the use of value activities. Following is an internal discussion of Stilsim as an organization in the form of an analysis which determines the strengths and weaknesses of the firm. This will help in performing a value chain analysis for the firm. Weaknesses: To say that there are a lot of weaknesses in the firm’s business processes, structure, policies and general office environment would be to say the least. To begin with it is important to discuss the weakness on the top level of the firm, which is the leadership. To have a weak leadership is amongst the worst things that can happen to an organization, and sadly enough the same is happening to Stilsim due to the lack of knowledge available to the organizational leaders at the top level. The CEO Bill Simmons, along with other top management has a lot of experience and is an excellent worker but nonetheless, his work is affected by a weak communication system which does not let him get the real facts in a timely manner. This weak communication is also manifesting itself in the way that each of the Stilsim branches work together and because of the lack of basic communication, all three branches have different agendas and work along different business policies which make it seem as if all three branches are independent of each other. Due to this lack of harmony, the company and its staff is facing disillusionment. Another major weakness of the firm is that there is little use of new technology in the firm and due to this the business processes are old and obsolete. A lot of issues are raised due to the fact that the organization is using old-fashioned methods of work and management. There are no efficient marketing policies which have also caused the firm to lose a lot of contracts. A part from this another reason that old clients have moved away to other firms is that Stilsim is using such old and obsolete techniques for their business that most of the times they are not able to fulfill the needs and requirements of their clients. This is also due to lack of proper usage of new and appropriate technology such as information technology. There is also a strange lack of focus amongst the employees. To say the least, there is no sort of training and human resource development activities going on the firm, and the same old employees who were doing the job in the old fashioned way 15 or 20 years ago are doing the same things the same way today. There are no appropriate documentations about the employee guidelines and non-existent job descriptions available for the employees. Due to this there is little or no semblance or organizational values and the organizational behavior is perhaps the worst aspect in Stilsim. There are a lot of conflicts between the employees with fights breaking out at the workplace. There is no loyalty in the employees towards their organization and a lot of backbiting and disloyalty goes on. In short the work environment is in terrible condition and the ethical standards of the employees are very low. Strengths: Due to the fact that Stilsim has been in the business for the last 25 years, to say that the organization has some strength would not be an incorrect statement. Due to the long time the organization has been in business they have laid a strong business foundation with a network of many loyal customers and clients who prefer working with Stilsim. The employees although disillusioned, are still experts in their fields with in-depth experience after having worked for 25 years in the industry. Another major strength of Stilsim is that the firm has expanded to extremely beneficial markets and locations and although there is great concern over the declining profits, the organization is still making money due to its past days of glory. Value Chain Analysis A value chain categorizes the generic value-adding activities that are a part of an organization. The value-adding activities are: Inbound logistics, Production, Outbound logistics, Sales, Marketing and Maintenance. These activities are supported by the administrative infrastructure management, human resource management and procurement. The Stilsim value chain starts at the inbound logistics, which for this organization is the provision of employees for employers and jobs for those who seek them. These inbound logistics are how Stilsim makes its money and all of its profits and is the main business activity. The operations or productions lack proper work flow and designs a major cause of which is the lack of technology. Therefore this is a part that Stilsim has to improve in the future by training employees in a better way and assigning the right jobs to the right people. There is also a need to aim for innovative approaches for marketing and promotions of the organization. There is a need for greater for image building, and creating a brand name in the minds of the consumers, and this can be done through effective marketing which portrays the organization as the best at what it does and also will result in new clients for Stilsim. E-marketing is a tool that can be used for this purpose and will definitely bring more clients for the organization. The second step in this analysis is the discussion about the support activities which give strength to the value chain. These activities are mainly: Procurement, technology development, human resource management and general administration. Since there is no need for procurements in the Stilsim organization, we can go on directly to technology management. As mentioned previously, there is a lack of usage of new technologies at the Stilsim workplace and this has been stressed over again and again. The manual systems have to be replaced as soon as possible if the organization wants to succeed in the future and compete with the newer firms out there. As far as the Human resource development of the organization is concerned, there is also almost no proper training provided to the employees and a lack of developmental activities. Once the employees are hired, the company plays no further part on enhancing their skills and this has to change in the future as it is detrimental to the plans of making Stilsim a progressive organization. The next part is general administration. Since it is associate with supporting the entire value chain and not just individual activities, affective general administration is crucial for all organizations. From the organizations analysis we can see that it is lacking quality planning, management and information systems, another thing that will have to be changed. Core Competencies: The core competency of Stilsim is the experience that the firm has had and the strong foundations it has built in the market over the time. There is a lot of social capital that the company has and the relationships it has made with clients over the years are priceless. Apart from this, another competency is the location of Stilsims offices. The Lakeside office in particular is suffering a loss of clients and the firm should pursue strategies which ensure that the clients who have moved away can be retained through contacting them. Stakeholder Analysis: Stakeholder Analysis is a method which is used to help institutional and policy reform processes by accounting for and often incorporating the needs of those who have an interest in the reforms under consideration. At Stilsim these people are the stakeholders, heirs, the community the clients and the employees of the organization. All these people have invested their hopes, time and money in Stilsim and need a return for it, therefore it is important to consider their requirements in whatever decisions the company makes in the future. Mission Statement and Vision StilSim Corporation is a recruitment agency which is providing service to clients at a competitive cost and ensuring excellent services. Stilsim Recruitment Agency is professionally managed and responsive to the community needs. Following are the promises that we at Stilsim make to the clients. Provide a high quality service in an effective and efficient way. Increase services by pursuing opportunities and developing new initiatives. Build upon our expertise as specialist provider for our clients. Develop and utilize the skills and potential of our dedicated staff. Actively promote equality of opportunity in all areas of our work. Conclusion: This internal analysis, with the help of the external analysis will provide a great deal of insight into the changes that have to be made in order to turn around the future of Stilsim. I am extremely confident that this analysis has cleared the way forward for a lot of effective changes in this regard. Read More