Toshiba Company in Malaysia - Coursework Example

? Table of contents Chapter 2: Competitive Advantage I. Organization Core Competencies II. Competitive Forces Model for Toshiba III. Competitors IV. Customers V. Weakness in Five Forces VI. Value Chain of Toshiba Chapter 3: Information system in the organization I. Online purchase system for internet based sales of Toshiba products II. Supply chain management system III. Business processes IV. IT software and hardware recommendation V. Recruitment system VI. Number of managers VII. Product life cycle management system VIII. How is Toshiba attracting customers Chapter 4: Electronic Commerce/Enterprise Systems I. How one of the uses will give the organization a competitive advantage II. Brick and mortar, click and mortar, pure click Chapter 5: Organization Redesign I. Decision support system II. Consumer behavior understanding III. Data mining/ Business Intelligence tools Reflection Reference Toshiba Company in Malaysia Chapter 2: Competitive Advantages I. Organization Core Competencies Toshiba is one the leading manufactures of advanced electronic and electrical devices as well as semiconductors. Toshiba’s clients and customers range from country to household level and the product range includes almost all electrical as well as electronic items. Toshiba is well known among domestic and business circles for products like laptops. After Dell, HP, Accer and Lenovo, Toshiba is the 5th biggest Laptop manufacturer in the world. II. Competitive Forces Model for Toshiba Toshiba’s product range is huge, starting from fluorescent lamps in 1939, Toshiba has come a long way over the past 70 odd years and has proven itself a worthy and tough competitor in almost all of the electronic and electrical industries. Toshiba is a competitor in most of the electronic industries, for example Toshiba manufactures video cameras for domestic use as well as surveillance cameras along with complete surveillance systems. Naturally it is not easy to compete with a company that has such a wide range of products, especially one that is continuing to grow and expand to a point when it will be intimidating and threatening for its competitors. Entrants: Toshiba has a long to do in the mobile market. A great marketing campaign has to be set by the company to take the market as Toshiba have in LapTop or computer market. Entry of competitors: it is not easy for a new competitor to enter the market for electronic goods because it is inhabited by organizational giants like Toshiba, Sony, Lenovo and many others. Threats of substitutes: yet again manufacturer substitution is probable but the possibilities are limited to the companies that are fully established with a large number of users who can help convince others to try out their products. Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Rivalry among the existing players: naturally there is a strong rivalry between Toshiba and its competitors but Toshiba is a high profiled player in this arena. It has been around for quite long time and has continued to expand with time by introducing innovations in its products with a consistency that few can match. III. Competitors When it comes to manufacturing electrical goods, Toshiba has got a large number of competitors all over the world for example Toshiba has got giants like HP, Dell, Lenovo, Casper, Sony, Accer and Compaq as competitors in the manufacturing of PCs and laptops. Toshiba has all sorts of competitors in almost all parts of the world though their types and expertise varies. IV. Customers Toshiba has got a large number of customers all over the world which can be divided into three basic categories. a) Domestic consumers: Toshiba manufactures Laptops and netbooks, Laptop accessories, Televisions, Blue ray players, DVD players, HD camcorders, LED lightings, Air conditioning and heating devices for domesticated environments. b) Business clients: Toshiba manufactures copiers, printers, fax machines, scanners, electronic components, semiconductors, hard disk drives, laptop computers, Surveillance and IP video products, Liquid crystal displays, Medical imaging equipment and Telecommunication devices for the business clients. c) Industrial clients: Toshiba manufactures Drivers, Industrial video products, LED display systems, Motors, Power systems, Transportation automation systems, UPS and SCib batteries for industrial clients. V. Weakness in Five Forces a) Supplier’s negotiation: Toshiba should work upon social network analysis of supplier’s network. Borgatti showed in his study (Borgatti, S., Li, X, 2009) that if Toshiba will be aware of the social context of suppliers then they will have an edge in negotiation. A supplier in isolation is easier to negotiate with as compared to the one who is strongly connected with other suppliers. b) Depth in supplier’s network: Depths in supplier networks provide alternatives in supply chain, network analysis over supply chain networks compute the network position of each supplier, their alternatives, time to contact with other suppliers at the time of any problem with major suppliers. Borgatti discussed Toyota company issue when they survived by contacting other suppliers after their major supply had supply problems (Nishiguchi and Beaudet, 1998) VI. Value Chain of Toshiba Generic value adding activities of an organization are categorized by the value chain. These activities can be divided into two basic types i.e. primary and secondary. Inbound logistics i.e. production and outbound logistics i.e. sales, marketing and maintenance services constitute the primary activities, whereas procurement, R&D, human resource management and administrative infrastructure can be termed as supporting activities. Chapter 3: Information System in the Organization An organization can be divided into three basic echelons which are strategic, management and operational. Furthermore an organization’s functionality consists of accounting and finance, human resources, manufacturing and production as well as sales and marketing, an information system serves these echelons and functionalities. Figure 1: generalized organizational structure (Louden & Louden, 2010) Toshiba is using following information systems, some are to improve their relationship better with the customer, some are to excel online purchase, etc: Currently executing systems at Toshiba I. Online purchase system for internet based sales of Toshiba products. For online customers, Toshiba has designed a complete online customer facilitation system that can enable customers to buy stuff directly from the company through www.toshibadirect.com, furthermore Toshiba also facilitates its customers by helping them locate authorized dealers in their respective locations or a representative can be dispatched to the customer on demand. Online facilitation does not stop with authorized dealers and representatives; Toshiba also helps customers to locate desired products via a search system that has a recommendation system integrated which in turn introduces customers to other products of interest. II. Supply Chain Management System For every production industry there must be a planner required which ensures the availability of all resources during product life cycle. Such enterprise level planner are helpful in preparing maintenance plan according to all production requirements. Toshiba is a big corporation also using Enterprise Resource Planner ERP system for managing such issues with two major components Supply Chain Management SCM and Customer Resource Management CRM. SVM is an effective tool for managing all the suppliers for negotiation and availability. However, CRM is useful for holding Toshiba customer for a long time by keep maintaining the record of complain, suggestions, reviews, comments on services etc. III. Business Processes Since Toshiba is so huge it naturally has a number of business processes which are needed for the functionality of the organization. Customer order management (reception and processing) Recruitment management system Development and design of new products and ideas Planning market strategy Analysis of feasible market possibilities Management of product deliveries IV. IT Software and Hardware recommendation A typical Client Server Architecture provides communication channel to clients to connect with web server which is further facilitated by Databases and App server Fig 2 (Loudan & Loudan, 2010) Figure 2: Databases and Application server figure V. Recruitment system. Every organization needs a well structured recruitment system that can enable it to hire and optimally utilize the expertise available in the market. A well ordered recruitment system has a number of advantages some of which are mentioned below a) Recruitment management system offers a flexible, interactive and an automated interface between the job seeker, the online application system and the recruitment department of a company. b) With the help of a recruitment management system it is possible to process applications accurately, rapidly and in an unbiased manner. c) Such management systems help to conduct the recruitment process in a structured and systematically organized fashion. d) Time and cost reduction in terms of time-to-hire and cost-to-hire can be achieved. There are two types of recruitment sources available: Internal sources: these include promotions, demotions, transfers, upgrades and retired employees. External sources: these include press advertisements, educational institutes, placement agencies, employment exchanges, labor contractors and employee referrals. VI. Number of managers (technical/management) jobs Toshiba has a large multitude of departments which incorporate organizational, operational, management and services. Therefore Toshiba has multiple types of managers and managing directors, for instance repair, warranty, recruitment and consumer feedback management are some of the departments in Toshiba, each of these has a separate manager VII. Product life cycle management system Product life cycle management system in an industry is the procedure which incorporates the management of a product’s phases of existence in the company, which start from the origination of the product’s concept and proceed onto design then manufacture and eventually to service and clearance. PLM assimilates data, processes, and people and business systems and provides a backbone to the companies and their extended enterprises for the product information. Product life cycle management systems have certain advantages some of which are given below: Reduction of time required to market the products. Improvement in product quality. Reduction in costs for prototyping. Quick identification of potential sales opportunities. Original data can be reused which enables the organization to save additional costs. Engineering workflows can be completely integrated resulting in reduction of related costs. Contract manufacturers can be provided with access to a centralized product record. VIII. How is Toshiba attracting customers Toshiba has evolved into a corporate giant over the past seven decades. It has a large variety of customers that it needs to attract and satisfy. Toshiba is using the following to achieve this: Business Processes Since Toshiba is so huge it naturally has a number of business processes which are needed for the functionality of the organization. Customer order management (reception and processing) Recruitment management system Development and design of new products and ideas Planning market strategy Analysis of feasible market possibilities Management of product deliveries Practicing Corporate Social Responsibility Every large organization strives to bring its consumers and customers alike as close as possible because the stronger the connection, the more secure will be the market prospects. Toshiba is no exception; they started a program called corporate social responsibility in 2007 and since then Toshiba has promoted its social activities at a large scale by arranging blood donations, organizing tree plantations and donations. Warranty/Repair System Toshiba offers a 32 hour warranty claim processing system. However collection and delivery of repaired products has always been an issue with all companies, Toshiba took a bold step and partnered with united parcel service (UPS). Now customers drop their products to be repaired at UPS sites which are then repaired and delivered back by UPS themselves thus speeding up the repair and delivery process considerably. Figure 3: Diagrammatic representation of a product life cycle management system Chapter 4: Electronic Commerce/Enterprise Systems  I. Brick and mortar, click and mortar, pure click: Toshiba has three types of customer facilitations available with respect to sales. The first one is the most common and conventional type, it can be termed as brick and mortar. All authorized Toshiba outlets and shop keepers that sell Toshiba products from a physical platform like shelves and such, are brick and mortar type sales facilities. Toshiba also offers click and mortar facilities as well as pure click purchase opportunities are also available. However what Toshiba lacks is a thorough study of online consumers which will enable it to realize the fact that brick and mortar sales is rapidly going obsolete. Online market has attracted a huge number of customers and it will continue to do so in the near future which is why most of the companies are rapidly switching to online marketing and sales and a lot of research is being done in this regard to understand and anticipate an average customer’s behavior and purchase strategy. Some firms regularly post product info and promotional chat on online forums such as USENET (Mayzlin, 2006) II. How one of the uses will give the organization a competitive advantage: The internet has grown into a colossal platform that supports information transfer, trade, entertainment, communication etc. This has presented an opportunity for companies who wish to market and promote their products and then sell them online too. For this purpose thousands of dollars are being spent annually to conduct studies on online consumer behavior and conclude results which will in turn help the company to manipulate the consumers into buying their products. A simple example is the online review system; potential customers tend to trust fellow consumers when they need to evaluate a product’s feasibility. Nowadays companies encourage online discussions about their products and some times even hire teams of bloggers to blog positively about their products. The growth of online reviews and their availability and accuracy in terms of first hand experience narration, has rendered them a significant influential factor in online customer behavior ( Riegner, C. 2007). Chapter 5: Organization Redesign An organization should have following systems: I. Decision support system A decision support system, commonly known as DSS, is a software program that helps the users which can be companies or any domestic client to make decisions by optimal usage of data, communication and other resources. A decision support system can be broken into the following types, a) Communication driven DSS: this type of DSS enables information sharing and communications between groups of people so as to improve their capacity to make a decision. It can be a simple email thread of a web conferencing tool. b) Data driven DSS: this type of DSS prefers to ensure data availability to all decision makers involved so that they are better informed and can understand the situation clearly before reaching a consensus. A typical example is the GIS which utilizes maps to represent geographic data visually. c) Document driven DSS: these systems focus on the conversion of documents into valuable business data. The best example is an internet search tool which enables the user to locate the desired item by sifting through data online. d) Knowledge driven DSS: these are basically intelligent systems that go through large amount of data, identify patterns and then make suggestions to the user. II. Consumer behavior understanding Customer opinion about a product is very important not only for the manufacturers and marketing personnel, but it is also imperative for potential customers in evaluation of product feasibility. There are a number of potential data sources for customer feedback, some of which are Emails, Blogs, Social networking platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, Review posting platforms like amazon.com and imdb and dedicated chat rooms. Therefore understanding the behavioral instincts of its consumers is one of the key factors that can affect a company’s business. Sales strategies based on surveys conducted online and in person are likely to be successful rather than the ones based on statistical inferences (Vijayasarathy L, 2002). III. Data mining/ Business Intelligence tools Data mining and business intelligence tools are the backbone of any organization’s ability to design the marketing and sales strategies. These tools aid in the identification, extraction and in the analysis of business related data like product sales records. Reflection I learned in Toshiba the following things: Toshiba is a huge company that facilitates clients and consumers alike all over the world. Its product range is colossal and incorporates a wide verity of products like simple micro chips to nuclear powered turbine generators. Toshiba came into being as a result of the merging of two companies in 1939, and has come a long way since then. I think that the determination to meet diversified market needs in an era of digital convergence has supported Toshiba in maintaining its leading position in the key product areas. Toshiba’s product mix is optimized for success in a rapidly growing market where quick adaptation to newer market needs is required and organizational evolution is essential in order to sustain the competition in the market. Toshiba has entered highly profitable markets such as digital consumer products and mobile equipment, and in key markets, including the fast growing markets of China and Asia with well planned marketing strategies. It appears that Toshiba will secure continued growth and profitability through in state-of-the-art technology and by strategic investments. My Recommendations: 1. Toshiba should have established a separate unit for studying online consumer buying pattern. It’s a relatively new way to observe which community (based on demographics, age, gender, professional experience, online sale experience etc) is more interested in their products. Such kind of study will answer following questions for the company which will be helpful for them to develop better online marketing campaigns: Which type of consumers prefer product A and which category prefers product B to purchase? Location/experience based return of customer. This will give Toshiba a better understanding of customer loyalty Automated learning system for analyzing online reviews system on social networks. Since the last several years the online social networks like Facebook and Twitter are very useful for studying customer behavior and what he is thinking about the product. This will also help the company to perform 360 surveys for their products. This kind of survey can be performed through filling some forms by consumers or through some intelligent agents (Cooley et.al., 1999). 2. Direct Marketing or Personalized Marketing Strategy Instead of spending money over other modes of advertisement, the world is moving towards personalized marketing. Identifying right person over web and then generate sales leads (Cheung, K. et.al, 2003). 3. Usage of Recommender System By using results and experiences from the above two measures the organization will be able to use a high class recommender system. The recommender system is a very useful approach to attract diversified sets of customers towards any product. It could be item based or even consumer reviews or experience based, both have their own strengths. Content based systems automatically match customers’ interests and generate recommendations like recommending WebPages (M. Pazzani ,1999), messages at newsgroups (K. Lang, 1995) and news items(V.L. Centeno et.al. 1999). REFERENCE 1. Borgatti, S., Li, X. (Spring 2009) On Social Network Analysis In a Supply Chain Context. Journal of Supply Chain Management. Vol 45: 5-22. 2. Nishiguchi, T and A. Beaudet (1998) The Toyota Group and Aisin Fire. Sloan Management Review, vol 40(1): 49-59. 3. Riegner C.(Dec, 2007), Word of Mouth on the Web: The Impact of Web 2.0 on Consumer Purchase Behavior. Journal of Advertising Research pg 436-447 4. R. Cooley, et. al. (1999).Data preparation for mining world wide web browsing patterns, Knowledge and Information Systems. Vol 1 (1): 5-32 5. M. Pazzani (1999) A framework for collaborative content-based and demographic filtering. Artificial Intelligence Review. 6. K. Lang, (1995) News Weeder: learning to filter Netwnews. Proceedings of the Twelfth International Conference on Machine Learning Taheo City, CA, pp 331-339 7. V.L. Centeno et.al. (1999) Personizing your electronic newspaper. Proceedings of the 4th Euromedia Conference, pp. 26-28. 8. Cheung, K. et.al (2003). Mining customer product ratings for personalized marketing. Decision Support Systems, vol 35: 231-243. 9. Vijayasarathy L (2002) Product characteristics and Internet shopping Intentions. Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, vol 12 no 5 : 411-426. 10. Mayzlin, D (2006) Promotional chat on the Internet. Marketing Sciences vol 25 no 2 : 155-163. 11. Laudon & Laudon (2010). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, 11th edition, Pearson Education Read More