Possible Solutions to Traffic Congestions that Happen in Hong Kong - Assignment Example

A SOLUTION TO TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN HONG KONG Student’s Name Course Professor’s Name University City (State) Date Literature Review Customer Needs: The Kano Model The needs of the customers can be categorized into 3 different classes according to the Kano Business Model. The business model majorly related the customer needs to new products and services. Kano model communicates the categories of customer requirements that should be known by the developers in any business field. The model also elaborates the ways in which the requirements of the customers influence satisfaction as well as dissatisfaction. The model efficiently explains the ways in which two categories of customer needs have an effect on either addition or detraction of value. This theory is also efficient in explaining the way in which a new value is created by a category of customer requirements. The model is hence paramount in the reduction of traffic congestion in Hong Kong as it allows the developers to understand the needs of the public more than the citizens themselves. The model also efficiently allows the developer to identify all the needs of the customers and also classify all of them. The loyalty of the customers is achieved through customer satisfaction and prioritization of development strategies. There is a need for the traffic contractors to understand the needs of the citizens who are customers in this case. The organization requires understanding what the basic needs of the customers are as well as what exactly delights the customers. According to the Kano business model, there are 3 broad categories of customer needs. Firstly, the customers require satisfaction of the basic needs, secondly, the customers require satisfaction of performance needs and thirdly, the customer require satisfaction of the excitement needs. When the basic needs of the customers are satisfied, the company’s capacity to explore the market is increased (Coleman 2015, p. 15). The performance needs’ satisfaction on the other hand allows the company to remain in the market and to maintain sustainability. Additionally, when the excitement needs of the customers are satisfied, the developer excels and therefore becomes a world class. The three categories of customer needs include the delighters which are also referred to as the attractive requirements. The needs have distinct characteristics; for instance, they are customer tailored and are not expressed. The needs also cause customer delight. The second category is the one-dimension requirements where the desired quality is satisfied. The needs in this category are specified and articulated. In most cases the needs are technical, but they are measurable hence they can be satisfied. The third requirement category is the expected quality which must be fulfilled whatsoever. The requirements in this category are obvious and self-evident. The needs are always implied but they are never expressed by the customers hence they are obvious. The Kano business model is applicable in many instances, especially where customer needs are quantified and qualified. In the determination of business strategies in Hong Kong, the model is paramount. The selection of the projects which will be employed in the construction of a sustainable road model to reduce congestion in Hong Kong requires the application of the Kano Model as the projects will be based on the needs of the citizens. The project may either improve the current situation of Hong Kong roads or develop totally new roads. The developers require defending their competitiveness and therefore should employ the Kano model in the road construction in Hong Kong. The anticipated development in the reduction of traffic congestion in the country is a new service in the county and hence applying the Kano Model will yield great benefits. Kano model utilization follows three major steps. Firstly, the voice of the customer is identified through focus groups, interviews, surveys, observations, customer feedbacks and the customers’ complaints. The second step involves translation of the customer’s voice into the quality characteristics which are critical. The translation of the customers’ voice is done through dividing the critical to quality characteristics into three groups; dis-satisfier, the delighter and the satisfier. The dis-satisfiers are the requirements of the customers; satisfier increases the competitiveness of the developers while the delighter category leads to differentiation of the customer needs. The third phase in the application of Kano Model is the examination of the current performance. For instance, in Hong Kong, the developer requires to assess the extent at which the roads in the nations so as to make an analysis and strategize the development activities. This phase includes the action plan, selection of the project, marketing strategy and the new services which will be developed through improvement of the transportation in Hong Kong. Kano model evaluation applies 6 different categories of assessment. The first category is the one dimensional requirement satisfaction, followed by must-be category then the attractive category. Indifferent category is fourth in the evaluation list, followed by reverse and the questionable categories. The Customer Service Theory The customer service theory is efficient in identification of the requirements of the customers and the ways in which these requirements can be fulfilled. The theory is also aimed at exceeding the expectations of the customers. With the aim to retain customer service the developer should always deliver quality and standard services. The developers will hence become competent and gain more road development contracts even in other countries apart from Hong Kong. Customers are paramount to al organization and therefore it is the responsibility of the firm to ensure that the workers are committed to meet the needs of the customers to their satisfaction (Ghose 2013, p. 70). The company profitability is majorly anchored on the extent of the customer services. The customer service model is achieved through execution of various characteristics in the firm. The company requires establishing a culture, whereby, customer service is continually improved to impress the customers with an aim of increasing the sales of different products. The new employees in the firm should be introduced into the customer service culture so as to integrate it in the daily activities in the organization. All experts should be trained satisfactorily in their distinct fields to ensure that excellent and quality services are provided to the customers. The Frontline employees in the customer care department should acquire the right virtues which allow them to interact with the customers efficiently. The company should also come up with ways of rewarding the excellent employees in various fields and more importantly to encourage customer services. The developers also require knowledge of their customers. The customer needs are manifested the customers are identified. Customer identification creates room for obtaining feedback from the customers directly. Demographic details that aid in satisfaction of the customers are also easily acquired through knowledge of the customers. The interests, the preferences and the various categories of the customers are identified. Business excellence requires being realistic in setting the customer expectations on the new products and services according to the customer service business model. When marketing is savvy and the claims of the services are exaggerated, the customers’ attention is captivated, but their expectations may not be maximally met. All the promises made to the customers to the developers must be delivered with loyalty. Improving products and services pleases the customers and they recommend their friend and other people to seek the services from the organization or the company. The customer service model highly embraces communication between the firm and the customers. The customers should always be updated on the activities taking place in the organization. For instance, in case there is promotion of commodities in the firm, the customers should be made aware. Technology integration in business has made it easy for the companies to communicate with the clients, especially through website where the customers send their complaints and the feedback about the services of the firm. Customer needs are dynamic and can change anytime. The firm has the responsibility to ensure that the new needs of the customers are satisfied to their expectations. Research is of great importance as it leads to the realization of the new trends in the market, hence the prediction of customers’ needs. Customer satisfaction requires the integration of minimum viable product, especially to increase product development. The MVP satisfies the needs of the early customers who then give feedback. The feedback from the early customers is utilized in offering improvement of the product for future. The viability of the MVP indicates that the product can be sold. Market analysis is enhanced by MVP in a cheaper way than when a product is made with too many features as it may fail to satisfy the needs of the customers. Osterwalder Business Model The Business Model Canvas is efficient as it gives the firm the capacity to reflect sufficiently on the elements affecting the business. The model allows the firm to identify the relevant partners, including the suppliers. The model also identifies the motivation of the business partnerships given that different firms are involved. The model also emphasizes on the key activities of a firm in given projects. For instance, the key activity which is required by value propositions and the paramount activities in terms of customer relationship, distribution channels and revenue stream are assessed by Osterwalder Business Model. The value proposition is also emphasized in the model, including the core values which are the basis of the customer service in the organization. Value proposition gives the firm the capacity to identify the exact customer needs which are being satisfied with the organization (Alt 2014, p. 39). Osterwalder Business Model focuses on the customer relationship within the organization. There is always an expectation of the customers concerning the target customers. The integration of this relationship between the cost and the format of the business is essential for the firm. Segmentation of the customers is also an important field of the Osterwalder Business Model. The categories of customers to which the core values are initiated and maintained in the firm are of great significance. The segmentation allows the firm to identify the most influential class of the customers in the organization. The model is also significant in the identification of the key resources in the organization. The value proposition is usually guided by primary resources and hence the developers require identifying them. The importance of the resources is also influenced by the distribution channels, the revenue stream and the customer relations. The distribution channel on the other hand, allows the company to reach the customers. The firm should therefore identify the most appropriate channels to reach the customers to increase sales to the benefit of the company. The customer’s routines should be integrated with the choice of the efficient distribution methods to make maximum profits. The model exclusively describes the cost structure in the organization. The cost of the resource is important as the firm requires accounting for all the inputs and the outputs in the organization. Finally, the revenue stream is important in an organization as it leads to the identification of the values which the customers willingly pay for regarding the means through which the customers pay for the values. The value payment by the customers also considers the way which is mostly preferred by the customers as they make payments. The firm therefore should account of the contribution of every revenue stream and the overall contribution of all streams which are involved in the transactions. Alexander Osterwalder business model is efficient and most suitable for developers who sign contracts with countries such as Hong Kong in the rehabilitation and the renewal of the transportation means to ease the traffic congestion in the country. Kotter’s Model Kotter’s model is efficient for an organization which is looking forward to changes within the firm. The changes range from the technological changes, management changes, staying in the front line of competition and project- based changes. Changes in an organization are not always embraced and they are challenging to integrate into the culture of the firm. Changes require cooperation of all the team members in the firm for its effectiveness. John Kotter’s theory outlines eight distinct steps which lead to changes in an organization and implementation of the changes to improve the culture of the firm (Kincki 2008, p. 50). The first step is establishment of urgency in terms of changes in the organization. The urgency brings everyone in the firm in the same level to embrace the need to change. The urgency is triggered through identification of threats within the organization and assessment of the opportunities which the firm can exploit for implementation of the changes. The urgency is also created through discussions concerning the matter at hand and brainstorming the change ideas to allow people think about the need for changes in the organization. Urgency is also efficiently established through the creation of support from stakeholders and customers to foster the change arguments. Secondly, it is essential to form a strong coalition through selection of a team which will assist in making the changes effective. Leadership is necessary in this step as well as the paramount stakeholders who will make the changing process effective. The leaders who are selected from the entire organization should be committed to making the required changes. Team building should be encouraged within the team and diversity should be maintained through the selection of coalition members across the departments. The third step is the creation of a vision for the anticipated changes in the firm. A clear vision guides the team members towards the changes in the organization. The core values are the major guiding principle to change in an organization. The vision should be brief and summarized indicating the anticipated outcomes of the changes. A strategy should be created indicating how the vision will be employed by the firm. The fourth step is the communication of the vision to the organization’s members to familiarize them with the anticipated changes. The fifth step involves the removal of the obstacles that is likely to hinder the changes from occurring. Changes often face resistance from the members of the organization and therefore it is important to hire a team which will deliver changes despite the resistance (Lindren 2012, p. 147). The business structure, description of the job and the performance should be in line with the vision for the changes to be efficient. The sixth step involves motivation whereby, a short-term win is created. Awarding those who have embraced the changes efficiently motivates the others to follow suit. However, targets must be set for the staff members to achieve so as to earn the rewards. The seventh step towards change according to Kotter’s model is building on change. Building on the change makes it long-term, hence assuring sustainability in the organization. The success created should pose a room for improvement regarding identification of opportunities to create more changes for the sustainability of the firm. Achieving the objective of the changes should lay a basis for the achievement of the major goals of the organization. The final step in Kotter’s model is strengthening the changes to make them part of the corporate culture. Optimal Ethic Business Model Dennis Collins developed a business model, an optimal ethic system model where he insisted that the best business practices are attained morally. There are five categories of ethical practices, according to Collin’s business model. The first category is an ethical hiring process where fairness should be observed as well as sustainability (Collins C. 2014, p. 30). Secondly, the training practices in the firm should include the teaching of ethics. The orientation process is the third category which requires inclusion of the code of conduct. Ethical decision making should also be encouraged in the organization. Fourthly, all the operational practices in the organization, including customer services, community outreach and natural environment conservation should be carried out ethically by all the responsible team members (Rohm 2004, p. 679). The fifth category of practices in an organization that requires ethic is the evaluation process which should be conducted well to foster best practices. The Hedgehog Business Model The Hedgehog Business model was developed by Jim Collins applying three different organization evaluation techniques. The first evaluation item is about what people are interested in as it indicates their passion (Collins 2001, p. 37). The organization should evaluate the source of strength with regards to its competitors. The third aspect of hedgehog principle is identifying the best channel in terms of revenue generated by the firm. All these three aspects lead to business excellence and customer satisfaction (Collins 2001, p. 40). The Flywheel Concept Jim Collins also developed the flywheel business model. The model is efficient, especially in covering the areas which require changes in an organization. The model has distinct characteristics initial stage where momentum is created, then the strategy is communicated and the alignment of the company goals with the changes which have been adopted (Rohm 2004. P. 678). When the company is faced with misalignment, the flywheel is renovated to create momentum that will lead to the desired results in the organization. . References Read More