Nurturing an Environment That Is Customer-Centric and Innovative - Essay Example

Assignment Two (Insert Name) (Institution Affiliation) The recent market turbulence that was initiated by the global financial crisis may have to a great extent foreshadowed the new phase of globalization, one in which market volatility is likely to remain constant (Johnson, Scholes, & Whittington , 2008). Even as many countries continue to recover from global recession lifts, the underlying fluctuations especially in currency and commodity rates, energy, heightened customer demands and emergence of non- traditional new competitors will continue to severely toil traditional operating models and businesses as well for some time to come. In order to remain competitive companies will be required to adopt new characteristics and display qualities that will enable them meet the challenges of, and be successful in, today’s business climate. Some of these characteristics and qualities include the knowledge of age and the ability of a company to transform information into insight in today’s market movement which are crucial to sustainability (Bennett, 1999). Companies must critically explore ways to make their processes more flexible so that they can thrive in the current competitive market arena. There are various characteristics and qualities that organizations must possess to be able to make strategic decisions and be able to sail through the tough economic times. One of the principal characteristic that companies must possess is organizational agility. This characteristic is a core differentiator in today’s rapidly changing business environment. While an overwhelming majority of chief executives view organizational agility as a competitive necessity, actual business readiness is more mixed (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington 2008) In such situations, technology can play an important supporting role in enabling organizations to become more agile since the past years market volatility has highlighted painful fashions caused by technological limitations and for them to be avoided, companies need to address and anticipate some pivotal events that influence their businesses. In order to have a deep insight on the qualities and characteristics expected for a company for it to survive in the current competitive market, we will carry out strategic analysis of a business organisation called Sheffield theatres trust. This issue concerns a charitable trust that is responsible for two of the leading provincial theatre in the United Kingdom namely Crucible and Lyceum Theatres [Gar03]. It focuses on the period from 1971 to 2001. During this period the theatre saw many significant changes in its environment and had a very tough ride in terms of its finances. This case proves that strategy formulation is not a simple process as many organizations executive officers may think since it does not only involve matching capabilities to the environmental requirement but also relies on proper understanding of political context within which various strategies are formulated. Many companies such as Sheffield theatres are a unique challenge in the current market place. For instance, Sheffield theatre has two distinct theatrical traditions. It has built a reputation as a high profile quality producing theatre in the United Kingdom and also has a strong history of touring theatre[Gar03]. This distinction especially as a fundamental producing theatre particularly through commissions, artistic direction and finances are brought together in a charitable company commonly known as Sheffield theatres trust. In line with current market challenges, let us consider a scenario of the Crucible Theatre as part of Sheffield Theatres Trust explored and celebrated the lives of migrant families in Sheffield. The project comprised of two main parts: a workshop programme involving elements of research, writing and oral history; and a drama -based interpretation of the results to a wider audience in the main house of the Crucible Theatre[Gar03]. Professional arts practitioners worked with cross-generational groups from seven different community organisations using oral history and research to produce stories for presentation to a wider audience. A professional writer, as part of a separate workshop, produced a play interpreting and celebrating the memories and research recorded. The lyceum theatre on the other hand was opened back in 1897 and was designed by the best architect of the time. However, the theatre is currently listed as grade II building. The theatre has a rare advantage in that it does not have pillars which obstruct the audience like many of the traditional theatres. It also has one of the deepest performance stages in the entire country. The Lyceum and Crucible stand physically together overlooking a paved square and it is because of this reason that a decision was reached to form a new company that would manage both venues[Gar03]. However, the distinctive roles of each theatre were to be retained which allowed Crucible to work largely as a producing house while Lyceum hosted new ranges of touring companies. The fact that the theatre has both commercial and public service objectives to pursue simultaneously should make it clear that strategy formulation usually proceeds through a process of balancing and compromise and not through optimisation (Johnson, Scholes, & Whittington , 2008). Thus this case specifically can be used to illustrate a number of contentious issues. First of all, the factors that affect the objectives and expectations of groups or individuals are clearly brought out. Secondly, the identification and analysis of the conflicts of interest and expectation must be taken into account[Gar03]. Both Crucible theatre and also Sheffield theatres as a whole have constantly faced financial crisis and controversies together with unprecedented losses that have been at the centre of the public storm. The period from early 1990s was one of financial turmoil that followed the recovery against a changing economic, social and political backdrop[Gar03]. This shows how theatres have to adapt and change in order to thrive and not just survive through the economic tough times. The characteristics that enabled the theatres to overcome the back drop goes beyond mere financial concerns. Although there could be a return especially to a very conservative government which most probably result in the slash of budgets, it is worth noting that the impacts on theatres of the likes of Sheffield Theatres could require a massive shift in management focus and a return to mere survival. Some of the solutions that are often welcomed by commercial organizations such as tax cutting usually have a significant impact on the state of arts and charities since such environments significantly affect them[Gar03]. Therefore, theatres have to take advantage and capitalise on the good financial times in order to be able to shield themselves against losses during the financial downturn when they are most vulnerable. To understand better the concept of operation of a theatre, it is worth differentiating between audience and customers (Johnson, Scholes, & Whittington , 2008). Audience are crucial in any industry that deals with live events since they usually play a key role in the product and also its quality. As far as the live industries are concerned, low attendance always lowers the quality of the experience which consequently lowers the customer’s perception of the quality of the production. The general term customer which is very common in business is a more diverse description that is often used when retailing either to the public or to the industry. There is less personal involvement in the product when merely purchasing than there is in attendance of live events. Thus audience is more important in live industries than customers although both are critical for business continuity. In times if financial crisis and controversies like the ones that faced Sheffield Theatres, businesses must have into place qualities and right framework that ensures resilience of the company to challenges and threats. This approach usually help in ensuring that the key customers, business brand, key suppliers and the business reputation are maintained as well as long term business survival in case of an economic crisis. Majority of customers require resilient product suppliers as well as entertainment service providers that are reliable at all times. The viability of businesses and companies depends on its resiliency especially in times of economic, political or social crisis. Reliability is a core quality or characteristic in response, rebuilding and recovery from a financial down turn or crisis. In the absence of a resilient public or private sector, the ability of companies to thrive again after a major incident will slow down to an unacceptable rate. Even the smallest period of down time can hinder the survival of a company or its ability to thrive through the tough times. Macroeconomics are important are the other key important driver of the companies competitive abilities. But the worry is the microeconomics - especially how big companies are going to deal with the transition defined in part by the agenda above. Our so -recently tried-and-true (yet still recent) management tools are, arguably, worthless, many downright dangerous. There are lots of experiments to watch, pioneering bosses to learn from. But is the shift being made fast enough? The nation that can answer yes to that question is the one that will lead the league tables in the decades ahead. Some companies such as Crucible and Lyceum are crucial assets to the City of Sheffield in its attempts to regenerate the economy of the region. Persuading companies to relocate to Sheffield is helped by the presence of theatres of national standing. However, a crucial question arises as to who influence policy. Some of the core factors that influence policy and strategy includes: national culture whereby the as seen in the case of Sheffield theatre, the public sector is becoming more accountable and often participate in improving service delivery through public scrutiny of performance. The second factor is organizational field which involves the acting professionals and the national arts network. Finally, we have the organizational culture which demands that the shoe must go on and lead by bureaucracy. The organizational culture does not allow bureaucracy and anti- commercials to influence policy. The rapidly developing, world-wide marketplace has spawned a new allure for the multi-national company to seek out attractive labour markets to reduce cost, locate close to customers to improve customer service, and build new markets in developing countries to enhance profits. Every organization business strategies and major decisions are based on assumption that the business is continuing. Any event that violates this assumption is a significant occurrence in the life of any organization and it impinge directly on the organizations ability to fulfil its business objectives and that of its customers whose livelihood is involved. Organisational management is thus a part of risk management that establishes cost effective treatments should an outage or a serious disaster occur. Another question that allows full discussion of the expectations of the stakeholders of many companies is whether the theatres were successful or not? For instance, the 1997 Sheffield Theatre business plan which was prepared with the support of several outside consultants, sought to unravel the core problems faced by the theatre during the previous years. This plan stressed on the needs to distinguish between the historic deficit and the dire need to generate more profit during the following years. This particular business plan proposed many modest and essential changes that were to be implemented within a span of three years to make the theatre complex more profitable through further development of marketing, strengthening the profitability of the catering function, increasing the number of co- production theatres and giving more opportunities to the senior management to manage the two theatres as a single venture. The business plan was agreed with various funders. In the light of this business plan, the management made some major decisions that were aimed at reversing the decline that was experienced during the previous years and also enable the theatres to invest in productions that were more significant and would attract better audiences. This was a fundamental shift of thinking in the artistic quality and financial prudence was no longer to be seen as competing forces. The commitment was obtained from the funders and also from the board and other stake holders to a policy which recognised that the only way the theatres could succeed would be to have a product that would attract the audience needed. Today’s business climate is characterized by surfeit of information that comes at a time when companies the world’s business men are challenged to become more nimble in the face of change. The market volatility has continued to haunt many companies since the information is the currency of the current digital age and knowledge is the coin of the realm (Lynch, 2003). In the entire business world, companies are presented with inundated data. The content of this data which was once largely proprietary is now proliferating through the abundant channels that are available. As the plethora of information swells, management and employees may find themselves drowning in it. One of the key elements of strategic, tactical and operation decisions is program management and initiation. In the event of a financial down turn or business discontinuity, the organization should establish the need for a business continuity management program including recovery objectives, resilience strategies, operational risk management, business continuity and crisis management plans. Companies must consider a number of trade - offs such as centralization. For instance, the management of Sheffield theatres decided to run both Crucible and Lyceum Theatres as one entity. This bore significant fruit in the years that followed especially in the production of Brassed Off, in 1998, at Crucible which was the most successful production by Sheffield theatre trust. The production generated excellent box office sales and subsequently transferred to the national theatre and then touring the United Kingdom and ultimately coming back to the Lyceum as a touring production. The product spin- offs thus generates substantial revenue to Sheffield theatres far much beyond their life in the city of Sheffield. In order to be able to cope with the market volatility, challenges and economic crisis that characterize the recent global market, it is the obligation of a business or an organization to determine in advance the risks that can adversely affect its resources as a result of business interruption; the loss it can cause and the control measures needed to mitigate or completely avoid those outcomes. Business impact analysis can also help an organization in identifying time critical functions and set proper interdependencies and recovery priorities so that recovery time objectives can be comfortably established and approved. In today’s free market environment that has been established by market globalization, the ability to satisfy customer or audience expectations is core to profitability (Lynch, 2003). Therefore, agility is crucial if a company have to survive the intense competition. It the company is not agile, it cannot do it since the expectations are never static but indeed dynamic in nature. Major injection of funds by Sheffield theatres trust that was aimed at improving the company agility enabled it to recover from nearly disastrous situation of 1998 when the company almost became insolvent. For this reason, organizational agility is considered by many people as the key to global success. Thus every business need sound agility in order to be competitive and also enhance recovery time as well as the critical functions of the organization. In addition, the emergency response, operations and the readiness of the organization to respond to catastrophic financial crisis in a coordinated, effective and timely manner is a key element to business survival. Furthermore, an organization is at a competitive disadvantage when it is not agile enough to anticipate fundamental marketplace shifts. Agile companies are often able to embrace the risks that may sometimes cannibalize existing products and thus have a competitive advantage. Furthermore, in the light of the perceived advantage of agility, business leaders across the globe are stretching their budgets, reshaping their business priorities and applying more focused scrutiny to capital expenditure in an effort to free resources and consequently become more responsive to the heightened customer needs. Agility is the quality that all the businesses are aiming to achieve. Just as market changes nearly upended the Sheffield theatres trust’s business model, the global economic downturn usually places many business corporations in a similar predicament. Irrespective of the geographical location, type or size of the industry many industries face extreme operation pressures especially during the current unprecedented time. In response, many of today’s companies are adopting a back to basics mentality, with renewed focus on core operating costs. Finally, management of businesses involves decisions at strategic, tactical and operational levels and relates to multi -product, multi- plant logistics systems, which entail production, assembly, and distribution (Lynch, 2003). This requires the managing directors to foster insight into issues relevant to global logistics networks and encourage the development of algorithms that can solve actual, large scale problems. Some issues such as product design may affect both strategic and tactical decisions. Thus, the business must ensure its management team has the best talents to be able to survive in the volatile market space. In conclusion, the company’s ability to access the right information, accountability, agility, as well as the culture of high performance are the key enablers that can assist it in nurturing an environment that is customer – centric and innovative. Furthermore, since the current era is characterized by collaborative and open source networks, companies must seek extended partnerships to be able to thrive in today’s competitive market. References Bennett R. (1999) Corporate Strategy London: Pitman Publishing Becker, F. (2001). Organisational agility and the knowledge infrastructure. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, 3(1), 28-37. Bowman C. and Asch D (1990) Strategic Management London: MacMillan Education Ltd. Farrell, P. S., & Connell, D. (2010, June). Organizational Agility. In 15th International Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium: The Evolution of C (Vol. 2). Genus A. 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