The Strategic Capability of Coles - Case Study Example

Management Name Course Lecturer Date The strategic capability of Coles has been through many elements employed to contribute to their capability. They have used their assets, technology and money in formulating and using strategies in a competitive market (Jagle, 2002). They have utilized the human resources structure, buyers and sellers’ information and feedback. Leadership, employee skills and management team are essential factors which have contributed to Coles competitiveness. They have taken pricing to be part of their strategic capability. Since they understand on how to manipulate prices, this has enabled them maximize profits and continue enjoying strategic advantages. Coles overreliance on data from market trends, reports and customers surveys determine greatly their strategic capabilities. With continuous change and the way they acquire additional resources they increase value and output. The capability for Coles competitive advantage has emanated through how they deal with the distributed market. Communication between the company and customers is highly efficient. A continuous improvement has been possible through constant feedback from most of customers. Open work, group meetings; training programs and efforts have promoted Coles to develop its workers. The norms and rules that they create in the interactions govern and enhance regular control. Through rating it has been possible to curb unethical products and activities which end up being withdrawn. Its management is based on decision built on data from the structure of management, heads of business, internal operations, consumer marketing and consultations. Technology system has been upgraded in a constant manner to enable services and control. Participative undertakings for instance, have provided realistic aspects to improve Coles operations. Established networking and connections has facilitated advertising and promoted e-commerce and online feedback. As Ashkanasy (2000) argues, special qualities possessed by transformational leaders are important for change. Leadership deals with customers, suppliers and communicates with staff. People need to see the clear set goals and vision to move faster and effectively. A significant one is the ability to communicate vision and enthusiasm. This is expressed from their optimism level in their presentation. The size of an organization also determines the strength of the vision. Coles team with its group marketing director, merchandise director; finance director and many other have been the world major firm’s managers. Such a team was important for regeneration of morale, physical condition and work on little money spent on company. To speed up change such company needs a leader who understands change with a team identified as the change agents. Ren, Shi, & Wang (2004) argues that employees highest commitment in an organization result from leadership articulation of the vision, provision of intellectual inspiration, and promotion of the group goals. The first task in Coles was to align the business undertaking to the company’s objectives and goals. However, logistic challenges emerged from Coles vast workforce, within a large geographical distribution. It requires strategic management to bring the staff, store managers, regional managers and general managers in more than 750 locations in an overarching control. For managers to posses these qualities they must have gone through experience and training programs that are relevant and also developmental relationships like mentoring and coaching. Management structure is set for planning, implementing, coordinating, monitoring and evaluating policies and strategies. The new world-class team at Cole has rejuvenated a handicapped and struggling company. Its recruitment and filling of most senior management roles is an important factor for the growth and continuous success. The result of such separate roles has promoted Cole to become a data driven company. The effectiveness of measuring business activities helps a lot in controlling them. It is therefore possible for the management to feel and know how the organization is working. Category managers are expected to take time in measuring and working on data individually and in corporate. Holistic approach is bringing together the interrelated functions and activities to effectively manage and increase output. For Coles their meeting agenda heavily looked into the sales. However, they learned in the process that there were other significant factors needed to be related in the process. Significant among them included; renewal of store, positioning weekly prices, loses through waste and fuel volume and customers feelings about the prices. These are strategic measures with short-term tactics and through which sales can be improved in most times. Prioritizing on customers through Coles plan “circle for success” with its six goals including better value, quality fresh food, better services, smarter stores, best customer experience and on-shelf availability. The goals are build on cross-functional programs covering the buying, distribution, support, and store operations. Total quality management through developed programs is meant for products and staff development. This includes succession planning and thus staff training is of great priority (Wright, Dunford & Snell, 2001). This makes sure that future leaders of Coles are shaped and developed from within. Employees engagement, studies, listening surveys help them rate leadership and at the same time progress the strategies and policies. Communication with suppliers, and meetings scheduled quaternary with Coles staff from operation, marketing and finance increases the quality. Online forums that engage the customers are build on weekly focus known as “Tell Coles”. This attracts 3000 comments in a week and helps to integrate their views before launching and rolling them out. Coles business model is built on customers at the centre of product development. The sales and marketing, merchandising department force is meant to create value. The key importance of the model is to listen to the customers, by keeping up with their views, what they want to buy and the way they want to do it. Technology has been central in today’s business and it is continuously changing the way business performs. For Coles upgraded technology has allowed every activity in the business to be traced and thus yielding rich information for the management. Getting time and money in order to know the customers is very important. Coles spends its resources to persuade the customers on providing feedback without enticement. This is important to help understand the company in depth. New features and products are held for comment and views of the buyers. This helps to trace how customers respond even to small changes. Cole stays aware and flexible with its fast-growing categories. This they do by registering customers’ activity and in turn giving a response at the appropriate moment. This mostly emerges from creating separate and special features such as packaging and re-branding. Marketing and merchandising campaigns and schemes helps in placing and resenting products to known and new markets. Though they are short-term based, they enhance effectiveness at times of high demands. The main drive of a business is listening, adapting and enabling. Cole is governed from outside and within. Since there is an automated control system it is possible for the management to rate individuals and stores according to their transactions. This also develops a culture by creating virtual norms and rules. Both company and customers build up valuable reputation and thus further encourage good behaviors amongst themselves. Organization development is vital for growth and increased productivity. One significant part of growth is workforce. Human resource managers deal with organization workers, the conscious part for overall organization improvements. HR manager therefore, has a critical role to play. Through his/her advice it is possible to guide company’s functions; to plan, organize, lead and control workforce. This essential information needed by the managers’ help to plan and implement. Various managers also require such information to effectively communicate to their subordinates and thus improve team goals. The importance of such a role is critical to promote motivation to employees by clarifying and informing them of their tasks, the manner of performance and ways of improving to hit the mark. Through communication Coles has had a source of information for decision making, identification and assessment of alternative courses of actions. It has been possible to alter specific workers attitudes, and helping socializing and control of workers’ behaviors in different ways. Training is a deliberate and continuous search for information, knowledge and skills to help improve business conditions in its application. Workshops and classes are held for Coles vast workforce so as to learn how to make the most of its introduced technology and day-to-day business activities. Participants end up increasing their selling and service activities after taking classes. Coles training program are responsive to the business needs and which the workers familiarize with before embarking to use it. The Coles case involving Stuart Machin, the Director of stores who had hurriedly introduced the sales-based roistering system brought backlash as staff were improperly trained. Thus a new system is based on 1/5/20 trial approach where it is launched in one, five and twenty stores before it rolls out. The strategic planning and control is vital for every business undertaking. Responsible manager recognize the inadequacies and come u with the ways to control them through organizational activity. For Coles performance data has been critical in carrying out strategic planning and control. A faster application of decision and alternatives has been assumed through programming a training function to its staff in order to fill the gaps in their knowledge and skills. This approach has facilitated individual and group development. As first recommendations for change, training has been a planned action to solve specific company problem. As Bryson (2011) observes, this may involve inter-organizational discussion, practical workshops, seminars or use of external consultants. Complete training requires a designed system, implementation, and evaluation. A quick, revolutionary and intervention strategy have involved employees’ continuous feedback, written reports, constant discussions and job activities for various departments. The process requires collaboration for various departments to identify and select a training strategy to meet performance requirements. Performance management is a critical undertaking which regulate a continuous growth and output of various companies’ units. For Coles they have developed it through planning, monitoring and rewards system. The planning strategy has been founded on recruitment and employment. 70 % of Coles employees who most were casual without knowledge, consistency, engagement and loyalty have been extensively been replaced. Currently 80% are permanent with the casual worker hours per month delineated. Reduced absenteeism has saved the company a lot hours and huge sums of money every year. With a rigorous monitoring process, which involves close survey of its various stores and individuals is employed and is vital in management to reach their goals. Their rewarding systems are meant for high performing employees with public recognition and actual monetary rewards. Since it is involved with goods and services whose aim is development, innovations and inventions, a rewarding system can improves the morale of the employees, increase satisfaction, boost productivity and make them move closer to their goals. Remuneration and incentives critically improves performance. The managers and workers feels obliged to work as a way to compensate for high company’s inputs. Recovery was the first goal for Coles followed by a way of establishing long-term and sustained recovery. This was identified as the first way given to a world-class management team which is headed by McLeod to turn around Coles business. However, the remuneration package was offered based on performance set against extreme challenging targets. Thus the output from huge remuneration has the possibility to cater for itself and benefit both the company and its stakeholders. Coles is based on giving enough and timely credit to the efforts made by the staff members by recognizing. It is worthwhile and rewarding when workers effort is acknowledged. This has been through their incentive compensation solution and sales performance management enabled through software which effectively manages it (Wright, Dunford & Snell, 2001). An established culture facilitates internal competition between people and stores. This design identifies the top performers through established storecard. This also measures staff absences, morale and engagement, senior women and their roles, safety, waste, customer feedback, program execution, product availability, sales, cost and profit. Analyzes and modeling of various incentive payments of the company, sales, and finance service enhance this. That way it is possible to formulate plans monitor them closely monitor, progress business, track and manage rewards. As London & Beatty (2006) observes, the 360-degree feedback is a technique used by organization to impact on assessment of employees skills. The design helps to identify and measure team-building skills, interpersonal skills and customer satisfaction. A multi-source feedback is vital as it improve company, individual perceptions as well as other team members, which Coles has relied on. Coles involvement of its staff and stakeholders has resulted to gaining access to suitable information. In meetings, representatives and staff from each unit discuss and confirm the range of activities involved and impacting on them. This promotes moral purpose making it possible to achieve a formalized links between mangers, employees and customers and particularly make workers more accountable. Risk management aims at managing uncontrollable and unexpected events. As a plan, it provides some techniques easy-to-apply for the business and organization undertaking (London, & Beatty, 2006). It is a framework which analyzes the risks, identify effective ways that help to deal with unexpected events and also minimize the potential effect from such events. Coles has incorporated a better procurement of contingencies and right internal system, an automated ordering system to improve the quality of fresh foods. This has helped halve out-of-stock products. The rise of fresh food sales and reduction of waste in fresh food have saved the company a lot. As an important consideration, it is essential for such a company dealing with foods to incorporate an effective risk management with a contingency plan. This majorly as seen reduces the wastage and adverse loss of resources. Coles has been committed to manage its risks to acceptable levels. Through this, they have maximized their opportunities for the sale of fresh products and minimized the negative outcomes like customer dissatisfaction. They also calculate on their impact on environment and financial results. They have also marked the rivals and measured to their strategies. The company runs by making adjustments and considering alternatives. As identified, in the following years more structures were needed in order to sustain the huge progress. In a competitive and tough environment it is impossible to avoid change. The retail business is very competitive and does not stand still. Change is application of new strategies, alternatives in business administration, products and services placement. Cole has created ecommerce engine to point to online feedback and customers’ needs. The procedures which are approved by management are then incorporated in every department. Getting to work with efficiency meant changing suppliers and replacing some expensive brands and packaging. Strategized marketing campaigns are vital to avoid huge losses that might be incurred from ads investment (Bryson, 2011). The ad investment should be worth the foreseen returns and Coles have rated some of its campaigns poor including “Feed Your Family” in order to adopt new ways. Communication and continuous feedback helped improve low-quality items and come u with packaging innovation. The leadership promotes moral purpose within the organization. This is by being open for constructive criticism from Cole employees. Their learning comes from listening to their subordinates, experiences with them and fellow top executives. Listening carefully to the employees by the managers basically eliminate any false moves which can lead to go-slow and revolts within Cole community. References Ashkanasy, N. (2000). Transformational leadership as management of emotion: A conceptual review. Emotions in the workplace: Research, theory, and practice. (pp. 221-235). Bryson, J. M (2011). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organization: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (Vol. 1). Jossey-Bass. Jagle, A. J. (2002). Shareholder value, real options, and innovation in technology‐intensive companies. R&D Management, 29(3), 271-288. Juttner, U. (2005). Supply chain risk management: Understanding the business requirements from a practitioner perspective. International Journal of Logistics Management, The, 16(1), 120-141. London, M., & Beatty, R. W (2006). 360‐degree feedback as a competitive advantage. Human Resource Management, 32(2‐3), 353-372. Ren, X., Shi, K., & Wang, B. (2004). Innovation value moderates the effects of transformational leadership on organizational commitment. International Journal of Psychology, 39(5-6), 258. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Wright, P, Dunford, B & Snell, S (2001). Human resources and the resource based view of the firm. Journal of Management, vol. 27, pp. 701–721. Read More