Corporate and Business Strategy of 7-Eleven, Inc - Case Study Example

ORGANISATIONAL ANALYSIS By Name Course Instructor Institution City/State Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 7-Eleven, Inc. – Analysis 3 1.0 Organisation’s Mission/Vision 3 1.1 Mission Statement 3 The company’s mission is becoming not just close, but also convenient. The company seeks to make life a bit simple for its customers by ensuring the organisation is where it is where they need it. All the company’s personnel work hard to ensure that 7‑Eleven meet the needs of its store guests with friendly, reliable and fast service as well as the desired products (MarketLine, 2016). 3 1.2 Vision 4 7‑Eleven vision is becoming the best convenient retailer. The company management believes that being the best retailer will enable the employees to brighten the customers’ day as well as make their lives much easier. This can be achieved by smiling while serving the customers at the store or making sure that the food available at the store are fresh throughout. Therefore, the company always pays attention to the customers and sometimes change so as to meet the changing needs of its end-users (MarketLine, 2016). 4 1.3 Strategic Intent 4 1.4 Corporate and/or Business Strategy 5 2.0 Organisational Structure 6 3.0 Ethical Issues Confronting the HR Function 7 References 9 7-Eleven, Inc. – Analysis 1.0 Organisation’s Mission/Vision As mentioned by Anthony (2012, p.389), the significance of mission statements and vision on effectives of the organisation cannot be overstated. No organisation can survive in the globalised marketplace without specific objectives that the organisation desire to accomplish. Anthony (2012, p.389) posits that it is very challenging for an organisation to accomplish its motives for existence devoid of suitably defining its mission statements and vision, which are driving force or catalyst in the organisational activities. Therefore, visions can be described as principles reflecting or representing the shared values aimed by the organisation. On the other hand, mission statements connote documenting the organisation’s activities. At 7‑Eleven, the company’s mission is considered as the guiding light shining and offering direction and guidance in every organisational activity. 1.1 Mission Statement The company’s mission is becoming not just close, but also convenient. The company seeks to make life a bit simple for its customers by ensuring the organisation is where it is where they need it. All the company’s personnel work hard to ensure that 7‑Eleven meet the needs of its store guests with friendly, reliable and fast service as well as the desired products (MarketLine, 2016). 1.2 Vision 7‑Eleven vision is becoming the best convenient retailer. The company management believes that being the best retailer will enable the employees to brighten the customers’ day as well as make their lives much easier. This can be achieved by smiling while serving the customers at the store or making sure that the food available at the store are fresh throughout. Therefore, the company always pays attention to the customers and sometimes change so as to meet the changing needs of its end-users (MarketLine, 2016). 1.3 Strategic Intent Strategic intent at 7‑Eleven offers motivation, focus and direction for the whole organisation and plays a crucial role in the firm’s organisational and architectural development. According to Romar (2009, p.59)the, when strategic intent becomes the firm’s motivational as well as organisational energy, core competencies become the footing. Even though 7‑Eleven immediate market success is attributed to the wide acceptance of the company’s current product offerings, the success in future will be defined by the company’s ability to project customer needs, market possibilities, as well as the competencies needed for the development of the organisational capabilities required to create future products that would be successful in the market. Mburu and Thuo (2015, p.59) define intent as a psychological model possessed by a person able to create intentional states. Such mental states as mentioned by Mburu and Thuo (2015, p.59) must be coupled and achieved in the external reality. More importantly, the leaders’ desire to offer direction results in strategic intent steered by the desire to remain competitive. Clearly, the strategic intent does not just involve the development of the strategic plan, but also working on the goals, vision, and mission of the organisation. At 7‑Eleven, the company aspiration to remain stable and competitive over time has inspired the leaders to partake in strategic intent; thus, they always think the unthinkable with the objective of creating commitment to the company’s future and help shape the core competencies of the firm with the objective of promoting sustainable future. The strategic intent of 7‑Eleven is reducing the company’s offices and stores footprint by 20% before 2025. The company plans to achieve this goal by strategically investing in a number of sustainability and energy programs, which would enable the company to reduce its resource consumption and waste as well as improve efficiency. In addition, 7‑Eleven intends to use LED Lighting so as to promote energy conversation and manage its energy consumption through espousal of energy management systems. More importantly, 7‑Eleven intends to engage all the stakeholders across the globe in order to promote social responsibility (7-Eleven Corporate, 2016). 1.4 Corporate and/or Business Strategy According to Casadesus-Masanell and Ricart (2009, p.3) it is imperative for organisations to learn how to define their position, examine their competitive environment, as well as develop corporate and competitive advantages. Practitioners and academicians have utilised a number of approaches such as dynamic capabilities, resource-based view, and also game theory with the objective of understanding the competition dynamics as well as find ways how organisations can define their corporate and competitive strategies. The management at 7‑Eleven understand that a good enterprise is anchored on the measures outlined by different stakeholders. Therefore, business strategy is crucial for the realisation of different sets of objectives (Boxall & Purcell, 2016). 7‑Eleven market success is attributed mainly to its effective and functional strategies that are strictly observed. Thanks to its business strategies, 7‑Eleven has outperformed its competitors by establishing a maintainable difference. The company has continually delivered superior value to its customers, which consequently has led to improved profits. Porter (1996, p.5) posits that when a company delivers greater value it achieves improved efficiency results. 7-Eleven is aggressively opening and acquiring stores with the objective of creating denser store networks. The company has opened a number of stores with gas stations considering that the gas constitutes almost 50% of its total sales at the stores. The company is using the market concentration strategy with the objective of ensuring successful usage of infrastructure and merchandising. The company uses fast food and private-brand products’ offerings in order to differentiate itself from its fierce competitors. 2.0 Organisational Structure As mentioned by Tran and Tian (2013, p.229), organisations are normally created through a groups of persons planning to realise effects that cannot be realised individually by one person. In the organisation theory field, classics characterised numerous varying schools of thoughts on organisational structure. A number of them argued that organisation structure was determined by the technology, environment, or size. As suggested by Henry Mintzberg, organisations could be differentiated through; the organisational part playing a crucial role in establishing its failure or success; the technique utilised by the organisation in coordinating its activities; and the level to which the employees are involved in the process of decision-making process (Lunenburg, 2012, p.7). 7-Eleven’s organisational form according to Butod (2010) is a simple structure with no technostructure, reduced workplace differentiation, and a management hierarchy. Still, the organisation behaviour, in a number of stores has not been formalised given that the company provides minimal training and has less planning. In Hong Kong, 7-Eleven uses machine bureaucracy, which is an organisational structure where the design parameters are clearly configured and it involves formalised procedures, specialised operating procedures, proliferated formal communication all though the company, and decision-making through a centralised power. In addition, the company has a comprehensive administrative structure that is sharply differentiated between the staff and line. The company’s organisational has enabled the company to continually monitor the workers’ performance efficiency. Aside from the standard procedures, 7-Eleven management structure is more elaborate. According to Morschett et al. (2015, p.47), the stores’ management at 7-Eleven have a limited hierarchy and apparently the general organisational setting is not formal since the available rules and regulations are not very strict apart from the normal absenteeism and punctuality. The 7-Eleven’s management structure promotes collaboration amongst employees and stores and the democratic power structure enables the company to easily make changes within the company since all employees are involved in decision making process. 3.0 Ethical Issues Confronting the HR Function Some of the ethical issues confronting the HR function at 7-Eleven include compensation plans: according to Buckley et al. (2001, p.19) there are some ethical issues associated with annual incentive plans, executive perquisites, salaries, and so forth. For this reason, the HR manager is pressured to pay top management more incentives and also improve the employees’ salaries. Therefore, offering the top management more incentives and ignoring the employees’ pleas for increased salaries can result in ethical issues. Additional ethical issues surface in the HR when employees’ long-term incentive and compensation plans are designed after consulting an external consultant or the CEO. In addition, the processes of performance appraisal are normally expected to be a fair process; therefore, it is the responsibility of HR staff at 7-Eleven to design a performance appraisal system that promotes fairness. Weaver and TrevinÄo (2001, p.124) assert that the HR is the most suitable function that could ensure fair processes and ethical goals have been included in the performance appraisal systems. Another ethical issue is attributed to gender, race and disability, where HR managers are expected to avoid discriminatory practices. Ethical issues can also surface from the hiring process, layoffs and restructuring, and employee training. 3.1 How HR Function Can Promote Social Responsibility Basically, the HR plays an important role in making sure that 7-Eleven adopts Social Responsibility programs. The HR function can promote social responsibility through communicating and sharing the essence of social responsibility to the community and employees, promoting a social responsibility culture, and encouraging green practices. Social responsibility can be promoted by the HR function through improving the work-life quality, promoting a work safety, and offering equal employment opportunities. As mentioned by Strandberg (2009, p.23), the HR managers play a crucial role in assisting their company to realise its goals by becoming an environmentally as well as socially responsible organisation. Clearly, organisations have started realising that sustainability can be incorporated in the organisation by attracting and retaining talented employees and promoting diversity. References 7-Eleven Corporate, 2016. Strategic Priorities & Initiatives. [Online] Available at: http://corp.7-eleven.com/corp/strategic-priorities [Accessed 2 November 2016]. Anthony, S.O., 2012. Influence of Vision and Mission Statement on Organizational Effectiveness: An Appraisal of a Private Sector Experience in Nigeria. The Pacific Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 13, no. 1, pp.389-97. Boxall, P. & Purcell, J., 2016. Strategy and Human Resource Management. 4th ed. Basingstoke, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. Buckley, M.R. et al., 2001. Ethical issues in human resources systems. Human Resource Management Review, vol. 11, pp.11-29. Butod, M., 2010. Management of Change is Seven Eleven Stores. [Online] Available at: http://ecbeez.blogspot.co.ke/2010/05/management-of-change-is-seven-eleven.html [Accessed 2 November 2016]. Casadesus-Masanell, R. & Ricart, J.E., 2009. From Strategy to Business Models and to Tactics. Working Paper. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School. Lunenburg, F.C., 2012. Organizational Structure: Mintzberg’s Framework. International journal of scholarly academic intellectual diversity, vol. 14, no. 1, pp.1-8. MarketLine, 2016. Company Profile 7-Eleven, Inc. London, United Kingdom: John Carpenter House. Mburu, S.N. & Thuo, J.K., 2015. Understanding the Concept of Strategic Intent. International Refereed Journal of Engineering and Science (IRJES), vol. 4, no. 6, pp.57-60. Morschett, D., Schramm-Klein, H. & Zentes, J., 2015. Strategic International Management: Text and Cases. New York: Springer. Porter, M.E., 1996. HBR’s Must-Reads on Strategy. Working Paper. Boston: Harvard Business Review. Romar, E.J., 2009. Strategic Intent, Confucian Harmony and Firm Success. Acta Polytechnica Hungarica, vol. 6, no. 3, pp.57-67. Strandberg, C., 2009. The Role of Human Resource Management In Corporate Social Responsibility. Brief Paper. Burnaby, BC: Strandberg Consulting. Tran, Q. & Tian, Y., 2013. Organizational Structure: Influencing Factors and Impact on a Firm. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, vol. 3, pp.229-36. Vault.com, 2016. 7-ELEVEN, INC. [Online] Available at: http://www.vault.com/company-profiles/retail/7-eleven,-inc/company-overview.aspx [Accessed 2 November 2016]. Weaver, G.R. & TrevinÄo, L.K., 2001. The role of human resources in ethics/compliance management A fairness perspective. Human Resource Management Review, vol. 11, p.113±134. Read More