How to Improve Eastern Foods - Case Study Example

How to improve Eastern Foods By: Executive summary The UK planning team intends to develop plans that would raise the level of business of Eastern foods. There are urgent issues that need deep discussions before the implementation of the plan on September. The board wants the work to be over by July 1st. Various issues need concentration in order for the plan to develop as quickly as possible. The report will cover the four aspects responsible for business growth. The issues cover the business Human Resource Department, Accounting, Marketing, and Operations Management. The report will also cover the challenges facing Eastern Foods in association with the four aspects. Furthermore, it will specifically cover two areas that that are key issues in the main plan. In the end, this report will recommend a plan for how the organisation moves forward after implementation of the plan. Challenges There are challenges facing the Human Resource in any organisation. Among them is talent retention. Most of these departments have poor skills in talent management. In any organisation, there are the top talents that always promote the performance of any firm. It is the human resources duty to main such talents. Failure in retaining these top employees is a challenge to the department. Another challenge is the development of leadership. The department should depend on the managers to keep the firm focused. Eastern foods constantly face employees resigning. They lay the blame on the managers who are deemed unsuitable. The department has to have leaders who have vision and good decision makers. Furthermore, culture is another challenge in the human resources. The players in the department do not have necessary tools in developing a cohesive culture. A diverse workplace derives its influence from a cohesive culture(Gupta, 2013, p. 87). Eastern foods have challenges facing the accounting department. One of them is accountants playing the role of whistleblowers. An accountant will be unethical in practicing this. The firm should have their own rules in tackling accounting violations. If the accounting department begins working as whistleblowers, it will be benefiting the competitors of the business. The company would face a rapid decline in the end. The challenge is so big that it may cause unemployment after the company has declined. The managers could be prosecuted and serve a lengthy time in prisons. Another challenge facing the department is incorrect entries in the balance sheets and the financial statements. The error arises after the accountants face much pressure from the management. The result of this may ruin or improve the image of the company. It may lead to short time prosperity if the accounts department gives a false improvement in profits (Teece, 2009, p. 98). Marketing department has its own challenges. One of them is how to generate the awareness. Driving the masses is an important thing in marketing. Getting customers attention is a great challenge to this department. The challenge comes when there are no enough resources. Some employees in the department are not aware of the proper channels to use to have the attention of the consumers. Another challenge is targeting effectively. It happens when the department is not aware of the tastes of the consumers. They do not have the correct picture of their target audience. It would be a big challenge to identify the specific needs of the markets. Furthermore, most marketing departments find it hard to keep pace with changing trends in the markets. There are many strategies used by various marketers. It would be a challenge for the marketing department to change constantly their strategies (Hannie , 2008, p. 76). There are challenges facing the operation management of Eastern foods. Globalization is one of the challenges. The operations department has to set offices across the world to handle the needs of the firm. Setting up of offices will ensure greater service to the external consumers (Shaikh, 2010, p. 20). Technological advancements are another challenge. The operations department has to coordinate the flow of activities within the firm. It will take a while to coordinate these activities if the firm has poor technology. The communication challenge arises here. It will be hard to communicate with all the employees effectively if the firm relies on old technology. The firm will have the challenge of lack of information. It is the role of the operations department to ensure continuity in the flow of information. Another challenge is social pressure. The operations department has to ensure the company favors all class of people. For example, Eastern foods should manufacture food depending on the age, that is, food for old and food for young. Issue one: Internal environment pressures One of the major facts affecting the growth of a business is the internal environmental pressures. The pressure could influence the production of the firm. One of the internal pressures is stability. Stability arises from the ability of the organisation to control itself and independently. More so, a stable firm would be able to clear its debts in time. Eastern foods will experience a significant growth if it has a stable source of income. The profits would increase, and there would be an expansion of the business. A constant financial flow defines the stability of the firm. It will sort the internal pressures arising from any department in the firm. A stable human resource will have the power to maintain the tastes of the employees. The marketing and accounts department in the firm would realize an increase in service delivery (Jain, 2010, p. 07). Another internal pressure arises from the organisational structure of the firm. The organisation should have the highest level of organisation to realize its full potential. Easter Foods has to have a smooth way of conducting business. It would depend on the organisation of the human resource, accounts, marketing, and operations management. The organisation should incorporate the definition of roles among the employees and the ways of communication. The firm has to fill all the job positions for a good structure to come in place. All vacant positions have to be filled with competent persons. There should be a coordination department. The managers have to be strict in their works and outline the mission of the firm. A firm that has plans would have a good organisation. It is the duty of each sector to specify their plans effectively. Eastern foods will attain the highest level of production if the management implements the plans (Gitman, 2008, p. 132). Availability of resources is another internal pressure. It is necessary for all departments in the firm to have adequate funds for its operations. The management has to ensure it has a reliable source of finance. Eastern foods largely depend on the shareholders and their sales, for financing. It would be beneficial if the management ensures these sources have great care. The shareholders should understand their role and would contribute, if necessary, finances required. The marketing department has a role in maintaining the customer resource. The department should use all their means to maintain the flow of the customers. Human resource is always crucial. The firm should offer the necessary support to this department. Eastern Foods would realize their business goal at the end (Shaikh, 2010, p. 12). Management is another internal pressure that may influence the performance of Eastern Food. The management could have effects arising from politics within the firm. In the end, the staff will shift their attention from production to the internal wrangling. A firm that has visionary leaders always achieves greater results (fk, 2013, p. 7). The managers have to decide crucial decisions, which could affect the firm positively. It is the role of the management to ensure continuity of the business. The human resource department should have a manager who would understand the needs of the influence. It also applies to the accounts department. The accountants should have a source of supervision. Marketing will experience an increase in customers if there would be an efficient manager in its watch. Moreover, there should be an operations manager with necessary skills to bring success to the firm. Competitors of Eastern would not have an easy time after implementation of this plan. The shareholders would enjoy a good return in profits because of good management of finances in the firm (Hannie , 2008, p. 14). Issue 2: Technology Technology demands the employees of the firm to be creative and have innovation potentials. They will provide various recommendations that would help improve the technology. Technology is always growing. It would be hard to separate technology and innovation. The graph shows how technology is very important in business. They go hand in hand. Innovative employees in the firm are very important because they accommodate the technological changes. Businesses are not the same as the past. There are many with competing products in the market, and it would demand advancements in technology to keep at par with them(Moore, 2006, p. 68). Technology is a business necessity. For Eastern foods to grow, it would require technology. The department of human resource can define their models with ease. It will be easy to understand the needs of each employee and consumers. It will be a success because; all the employees and customers’ information will be in the database. The department would have a convenient way of estimating the necessary tools for success. The marketing department would have the best advertising strategy. Technology will provide options of advertisement. For example, Eastern Foods would be able to develop their own website. It will also create pages in social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. The accounting department would have an efficient way of conducting business operations. Eastern foods should install a unique application that would assist in the calculations and operations in the accounts department. The firm will have an improved way of performing business, in the end. An accounting system that has complied with latest technological advancements will not suffer from problems such as fraud and mismanagement (Teece, 2009, p. 39). Technology will be a source of security to the firm. It also offers support. Technology would enable the firm attain the highest level of productions. There would be no worries of business closure because the firm will have enough funds arising from its high productions. Technology will allow the firm to use minimum resources in their undertakings. The costs of production will reduce at the end(Murphy, 2002, p. 100). There would be a faster service delivery mechanism. Information is very crucial for any firm. With the correct information, the business will work effectively and proper procedure. The information to be stored safely for future reference. The issue would demand technology to come in handy. Technology will ensure the information is stored with much ease and the required integrity. Easter food will always have an upper hand against their competitors because technology will prevent senior departments from sharing sensitive information. It is important for marketing and human resource department to keep their trade secrets very confidential(Moore, 2006, p. 600). The operations department relies on technology, to tackle the issue of globalization. Technology in this department will facilitate the performance of the business. A good operations manager will have a good performance if he has the latest technology installed in his office. It will offer him link to the outside world. The business will involve itself very well in globalization very well. It will allow the firm to conduct business at any place(Nelson, 2005, p. 35). Eastern Food could open business in various companies using technology. The management could rely on markets advertised online to establish new customer base. The human resource department could deduce the tastes of various markets. It would help the business expand its profit realization (Bailetti, 2012, p. 2). Technology could assist in general security of the firm. Installation of CCTV cameras relies on the use of technology. Vehicles that are important in the operations of the firm will have installation of tracking systems. Employees will have their morale rise in the end. They will work with assurance of security. The firm will then realize a significant rise in profits. All this information shows how innovative employees would assist in improving the productions(Gupta, 2013, p. 1). Recommendations The paper recommends the management of Eastern food to create an internal environment that would facilitate the growth of production. The managers should be highly trained and have the necessary skills to raise the morale of the employees. It recommends the firms to establish a human resource department that could incorporate the needs of both employees and the consumers. It further recommends for an accounts department that is up to date with the latest technology to ensure efficiency. This paper recommends for installation of latest technological systems in Eastern foods. The systems should have all the necessities to help the firm attain its goals. It further recommends for hiring of competent professionals who would run the systems. The paper recommends for additional staffs in the crucial departments. These are the human resource, accounts, marketing, and operations. The staff will help with reducing the workloads in these departments and improve efficiency. Reference List Bailetti, T., 2012. Technology Entrepreneurship. Journal of entrepreneurship, p. 2. fk, 2013. Business Environment. 2008: FK Publications. Gitman, L., 2008. The Future of Business: The Essentials. Chicago: Cengage Learning,. Gupta, P., 2013. Journal of innovation and entrepreneurship. Firms growth and its determinants, p. 1. Hannie Badenhorst-Weiss, 2008. Business Management: A Contemporary Approach. New York: Juta and Company Ltd. Jain, T., 2010. Business Environment. New Orleans: FK Publications. Moore, C. W., 2006. Small Business Management: An Entrepreneurial Emphasis, Volume 1. New York: Thomson/South-Western. Murphy, T., 2002. Achieving Business Value from Technology: A Practical Guide for Todays Executive. Chicago: John Wiley & Sons. Nelson, R. R., 2005. Technology, Institutions, and Economic Growth. Harvard University Press: Havard. Shaikh, S., 2010. Business Environment, 2/E. New York: Pearson Education India. Teece, D. J., 2009. Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management: Organizing for Innovation and Growth. New York: Oxford University Press,. Read More