Defining the Future Success of Hasbro Inc - Case Study Example

Defining the Future Success of Hasbro Inc of the Management of the Concerned June 19, Defining the Future Success ofHasbro Inc Section 1 The top leadership at Hasbro is well aware of the fact that the success and competitiveness of the company is dependent on a workforce that is highly motivated and efficient. Thereby, Hasbro facilitates to its employees an array of professional and personal growth opportunities (Marketing, 2006). The company is cognizant of the fact that it does need to manage talent across the organization by developing and training people in consonance with the organizational goals and targets. The individual potential of each and every employee at Hasbro is assessed on an annual basis, which plays a salient role in identifying employees to fill the future positions at varied levels. To a large extent the organization does take into consideration the individual aspirations of the performing employees and makes an effort to match the employees’ personal career aspirations with the emerging opportunities within the organization. Hasbro does believe in encouraging and motivating the employees to perform to the best of their potential. Targets and goals are set at both the individual and team level and the employees are extended on the job courses and coaching opportunities to help them accomplish these targets (Mendelsohn, 2013). The employees are annually evaluated with respect to the envisaged goals and are extended a thorough feedback. Hasbro does know that skilled and target oriented employees are essential to organization’s growth. Thereby the remuneration package of almost all the employees does have a pay for performance element attached to it (Mendelsohn, 2013). The one big challenge before the organization is to make the best use of its talent and leadership pool (Chief Executive, 2000). Hence, the company has contrived a Strategic Brand Blueprint, aimed at rotating the high potential employees at key locations around the world (Chief Executive, 2000). Moreover, the company is gradually shifting from moving the high potential talent, to contriving project based global teams, so as to generate a global exposure for the employees, without actually uprooting them (Mendelsohn, 2013). Thereby, Hasbro is well aware that in the current globalized scenario, it is imperative for the organization to match the organizational aims with the career needs of the employees, thereby creating apt career growth opportunities, while achieving the organizational objectives. Section 2 Going by the fact that Hasbro has presence in almost 26 nations and has nearly 7,000 employees; the organization does face many personnel issues (Mendelsohn, 2013). Managing and retaining the in-house talent is a big challenge for the company. Besides, considering the global presence of Hasbro as a salient children and family focused Entertainment Company, varied personnel issues like rotating the in-house talent and succession planning are some of the big issues faced by Hasbro (Mendelsohn, 2013). Not only the hiring policy of the company has a global interface, Hasbro also makes it a point to appraise the fresh talent on the basis of two indispensible parameters that are technical expertise and business knowledge. The company is very proactive towards mentoring and training the competent employees to enable them to take up future leadership positions in the organization. Thereby the employees being groomed to assume leadership roles are appraised on the basis of some key attributes like the ability to inspire and motivate and the aptitude for astute business management (Mendelsohn, 2013). The other important thing about Hasbro is that the company has linked most of its incentive and award policies with the organization’s strategic objectives and the commensurate appraisal metrics (Mendelsohn, 2013). This is indeed a very pragmatic way to assure that the performance management initiatives at Hasbro work in tandem with strategic goals and aspirations of the organization. Yet, this does not mean that Hasbro is devoid of any personnel issues. It is a continual challenge for the company to keep the employees stimulated and on the learning track, once they are picked up by the company. Besides, the leadership mentoring programs at Hasbro are bound to leave many employees lagging behind on the corporate ladder, as the chosen few emerge to be the real stars. This is bound to create resentment. It is also a big challenge for the company to keep the senior management initiatives aligned with the ideas generated by the lower level employees, going by the creative nature of its business. To retain its talent, Hasbro has ascribed to a competitive salary policy and a range of programs aimed at facilitating a work-life balance like half day Fridays and varied other employee assistance programs. Section 3 There is no denying the fact that the last two CEOs of Hasbro played a pivotal role in making Hasbro a premium company when it comes to children and family oriented entertainment. If Alfred J Verrecchia really revolutionized the way Hasbro managed its intellectual property, his successor, Brian Goldner took the popular Hasbro brands and packaged them in new formats to suit the altering consumer preferences. One amazing thing about the leadership approach of Alfred J Verrecchia was that he drastically altered the way Hasbro envisaged, managed, packaged and marketed its intellectual property (Business Wire, 2011). The ingenuity of Alfred J Verrecchia lay in taking the traditional Hasbro brands and leveraging their potential and scope. In that context it will be indeed true to say that it was Verrecchia who happened to be the primary architect behind Hasbro’s strategy of leveraging the astounding brand portfolio that the company had at its disposal into the hitherto untried categories beyond the conventional games and toys (Business Wire, 2011). The very fact that Verrecchia succeeded in this endeavor could to a great deal be attributed to his aggressive and proactive leadership style. If Alfred J Verrecchia leveraged the brands that Hasbro had at its disposal, the acumen of his successor, Brian Goldner lay in further consolidating the position and scope of those brands by presenting them into new formats. It was Brain Goldner’s initiative to select some of the elite brands that Hasbro had in its arsenal and alter them to suit the changing consumer aspirations by entering the novel formats like television shows, movies and video games (Amazing Kids, 2007). It was largely owing to the stewardship and acumen of Goldner that Hasbro metamorphosed from being a company dealing in games and toys to a leading children and family oriented entertainment brand. In that context it is indeed advisable to Brian Goldner to build on the strategy he initiated, going by the fact that the contemporary consumer does want to have a brand experience that is presented in a range of formats. It will be really appropriate on the part of Hasbro to consolidate its lead position by aggressively infiltrating all the existent entertainment formats. Section 4 There is no denying the fact that Hasbro happened to be one of the first few corporate entities that realized and exploited the importance of diversity and inclusiveness. Hasbro as a company does know that diversity means a sound business sense. In the words of Kimberly Janson, VP Organizational Effectiveness and Diversity at Hasbro, “When we successfully bring people of difference together, we make the world smile with our fantastic toys and games (Cumming et al, 2004, p. 126).” It is a fact that Hasbro is very proactive about incorporating diversity at all levels within the organization and it hires people from all backgrounds and cultures. At Hasbro it is believed that a diverse employee pool is highly conducive for inculcating creativity and innovation, the two attributes on which the company heavily relies on (Cumming et al, 2004, p. 126). Hasbro goes about encouraging diversity in a very planned and systematic way. In the US the company recruits from multiple colleges and does interact with minority groups (Hasbro, 2013). It advertises its internship positions at varied diversity oriented websites (Hasbro, 2013). The company is also moving ahead to establish contacts with a range of foreign universities in Singapore, Russia and Turkey (Hasbro, 2013). The company makes it a point to host an array of employee events that celebrate inclusiveness and diversity and extend an opportunity to company’s global pool of employees to meet and interact with each other (Hasbro, 2013). Hasbro well understands its global presence and thereby it hires talented and qualified employees from around the world. Hasbro was one of the few companies to accommodate diversity by initiating a Diversity Workshop way back in 2001that inculcated the organization’s core values of “community, innovation, communication, competitiveness and fun” amongst employees from diverse nationalities and cultural backgrounds (Cumming et al, 2004, p. 126). Hasbro also holds Annual Innovation Awards, a mega event that brings together the Hasbro employees placed around the world with the purpose of sharing ideas and encouraging innovation (Hasbro, 2013). Hasbro does has a positive reputation for complying with laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, nationality, physical ability and varied other attributes. Section 5 Going by the fact that Hasbro commands a global presence, the company and its staff operating in different countries is subject to an array of statutory measures peculiar to the specific nations. Hasbro as a company is indeed cognizant of this fact. Hasbro does train its employees and managers in the legal and ethical issues that they may have to contend in the specific nations like fair treatment laws, conflict of interest statutes, competition laws and ethical business norms and practices (Hasbro, 2013). Hasbro adopted a Code of Conduct in 1991 with the objective of consolidating its allegiance to the ethical and legal ways of doing business (Hasbro, 2013). Besides, toy industry is always subject to an array of laws in all nations. Thereby Hasbro is vulnerable to laws pertaining to product safety both in the US and in many other countries. Hasbro is also open to environmental laws associated with manufacturing and the laws pertaining to marketing products to children. Besides Hasbro’s online and digital products are also expected to comply with Children’s Television Act (Hasbro, 2013). Hasbro is also expected to abide by the norms and guidelines promulgated by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (Hasbro, 2013). In a global context Hasbro did evince a propitious financial performance in 2013. In the year 2013, Hasbro’s revenues in international segment across all important regions increased by 5 percent (Hasbro, 2014). This shows that after consolidating its position in the US, Hasbro is evincing a significant growth in the foreign markets. In the year 2013, Hasbro’s revenues from Entertainment and Licensing Segment also soared by 5 percent, thereby leading to the conclusion that Hasbro is strengthening is grip over diverse entertainment formats and forms (Hasbro, 2014). In 2013 Hasbro’s games category posted a growth of 10 percent and Hasbro did register a significant expansion in the Girls category, a territory that still remains to fully exploit by the company (Hasbro, 2014). The costs saving efforts initiated by Hasbro have begun to yield results. The company is further expected to gain grounds in the film and television entertainment. Section 6 In the light of the accrued fact it would be pragmatic to say that Hasbro does need to further go on consolidating its position in the games and toys sector by implementing an aggressive revenue augmentation strategy. The company can further milk its existing toy and game brands by better positioning them in consonance with the changing consumer expectations. Hence, moving ahead in this direction will not only bolster the imminent financial position of Hasbro but will also increase shareholder value. The aggressive posture taken by Hasbro in the repositioning and marketing of its existent brands in the toys and games segment are poised to usher in a viable revenue stream that could play a major role in encouraging Hasbro’s expansion in varied new online, television, movie and video formats. Besides, Hasbro does need to build on its time tested strategy of cornering markets through innovation and ingenuity. This will prevent the company from being overly dependent on the existent product lines that are poised to fizzle out over time. Besides, in tandem with its aspirations to enhance its share in the global children and family oriented entertainment, Hasbro does need to revamp its HR to accommodate a more global employee mix which is capable of generating ideas that satisfy the local markets. The top management also does need to take the initiative to be more in touch with the teams operating at the workshop level to assure a greater synergy between the employee aspirations and the larger organizational goals. The company does have a strong presence in the US and Europe. Initiative needs to be taken to target the emerging markets like China and India, by generating product lines inspired by the local themes and ideas. References AJ Verrecchia, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Hasbro, Inducted into Toy Industry Hall of Fame. (2011, February 10). Business Wire. Retrieved from http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110210006014/en/Al-Verrecchia-Chairman-Board-Directors-Hasbro-Inducted#.U6ng-JTLdX1 Amazing Mentor Interview with Brian Goldner, CEO of Hasbro. (2007). Amazing Kids. Retrieved from http://mag.amazing-kids.org/non-fiction/interviews/amazing-mentor/brian-goldner-ceo-hasbro/ Careers: What’s It Really like Inside- Hasbro? (2006, August 31). Marketing, pp. 67. Corporate Social Responsibility. (2013). Hasbro. Retrieved from http://www.csr.hasbro.com/pla02-diversity-and-inclusion.php Cumming, S., Houck, T., Moore, B., & Panszczyk, L. (2004). HR Networking: Retention. New York: CCH Incorporated. Finding and Keeping Talent in the Internet Age. (2000, February). Chief Executive (U.S.), pp. 32-37. Hasbro Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2013 Financial Results and Declares an Increase in Quarterly Dividend to $0.43 per Share. (2014). Hasbro. Retrieved from http://investor.hasbro.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=824366 Mendelsohn, Jason. (2013, April 11). Linking Talent Management with Global Mobility. Global Business News. Retrieved from http://www.globalbusinessnews.net/story.asp?sid=1665 Read More