Weight Watchers International - Case Study Example

Name Course Tutor Date Weight Watchers International Introduction Weight watchers offer services and products which help in either maintenance or loss of weight. Their aim is to convince people to have a goal weight which is equivalent to a body mass index and accept it as healthy. It mostly concentrates on those whose weights are beyond the normal standard and once they reach their goal weight he or she starts the maintenance period. Due to foods consumed by most of the people in the world today especially those that contain a lot of starch, most of the people are suffering from overweight or are overgrown in size; a condition known as obesity. These people may not have heavy activities to undertake so as to reduce their fat accumulation or reduce weight, others may have so much indoor chores to attend to both at home and in office that even walking to and fro their premises is a waste of time. Weight watchers help such people to keep their weight fit by giving guidance to their customers on the most effective style of doing things, basically on the exercises and diets depending on the individual conditions so as to ensure that they are healthy. Weight Watchers International Inc. is a well established organization which was formed in 1963 by Jean Nidech to support a group of women in her home. There are so many internal and external factors which have contributed to the expansion of this organization although there are other factors which challenge them. For the success of the organization, there is a perfect strategic management which is done to evaluate and control its performance together with the assessment of the surrounding factors like competitors and other resources for instance the technological aspects which acts to boost its status (Hubbard, 38-57). Strategic management of Weight watchers international Inc This is formulating and implementing decisions which enable the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. The policies set are designed in a way that they are suitable for anybody working or wanting any service in that organization, this also helps them to allocate resources to be used both to implement the set policies, programs and projects for the achievement of the main goals of the organization. The cases of obesity were so common in many parts of the world thus the market of the weight watchers quickly increased and developed in these areas as people wanted to have their weight kept fit and maintained. However, the other firms like NutriSystem Inc were envious of the performance and decided to try it, this competition forced Weight Watchers to work very hard especially in areas concerning customer care. By 1970s the company had grown so rapid that the founder decided to resign from the presidency to the position of public relations whereby she could handle customers directly. The management has formulated and tried to implement both long term and short term strategies to guide them achieve their set goals and objectives. The long-term planning is that which takes time to reach its horizon and covers the entire organization within minding the internal or external factors (CIBC World Marketers, 24-35). Macro environment of Weight Watchers international company The weight watchers exist in a divergent and changing environment which provides some external factors highly influence the operations and performance of the organization. These may involve the technological changes, government interventions, and economic inflation which affect the cost of raw materials. The advancement in the technology is highly influencing the way of doing things and the management of all the organization should always be on their tips so as to match their operations with the changing technology. For example, the international weight watchers organization has their website which enables them to communicate with other organization and links them with their customers enabling them to keep updated. This also acts as reinforcement to the organization so as to survive. Weight watchers.com was a website which was established in 2009 to offer the weight watchers eTools and weight watchers information online. This was the largest internet based management service provider globally holding the position of the leader of the market in terms of internet category. The company also implemented the use of Television for advertising its services as well as creating awareness of their objectives to the targeted customers. This also became the leading website through which the other organizations offering similar services could implement their online programs. This acted as a booster to the organization because the other organization were charged some charges against accessing the website and it helped create some positive perception toward the organization since it was portrayed as the mother of the others (Eisner et al, 1-3). The economic inflation affected the prices of the raw materials like weight loss drugs and the tools used for the exercises. Thus the organization has a flexible strategic planning so as to fit any changes. Globalization is another factor which considered while setting the strategic plans so as to fit in the international standards, for example, the ISO standards. This enables it to survive in the stiff competition within the global market because the management concentrates on improving the activities considering the current conditions in the environment. Porter's five forces This entails a framework of a business strategy deriving five forces which determine the intensity of competition and the attractiveness of the market; this is in terms of the rate of the profitability of the industry. The management of the weight watchers international considers these forces to enable it realize the dynamics of its market so as to be able to compete with other related firms. It provides the necessary approaches to guide the organization plan for the most effective management strategies. The first force is the degree of rivalry or the stiffness of the competition between Weight watchers International and other related organization. This is the most important of the forces as it enables this organization to distinguish itself from the rest; thus stands to be the leading in the global market. The management looks into the most unique factors which improve the quality of the services offered. The second force is the threat of entry; which entails all the changes taking place and mostly affects the cost of capital, for example, investments in the technology, distribution of channels, government interventions and others like economies of scale like benefits of buying in bulk. Although to some extend these threats can be seen as barriers to the organization, they especially during the installation time like the technology they end up increasing the profitability of the business and others like distribution channels increase the contacts with the competitors hence the management is able to identify the areas raging behind in their firm and improve it (Porter, 49-50) Threat of substitute is another force which entails factors explaining why the consumers may opt for products which serve the same purpose for example why would they prefer the weight loosing exercises offered by other weight watcher companies and not those offered by the weight watchers international company. These may be switch in the cost of the services or the quality of the services like how they are designed. This threat enables the management of this organization to know the interests of the target audience and the possible factors which can change the consumer’s demand of a commodity. The power of the buyer is another important force which influences the appropriation of the product. So as to determine the power of the buyers, the organization considers their size and concentration or carrying out a research to investigate how much the target customers are informed about the products. The organization knows that the force of the buyers power is high where there is less competition or with minimal cost switching between the chains of distributors. The other force is the supplier power which is determined by the proportion between the input of an organization and the output. For example, the availability of various services of cutting and maintaining weight compared to the number of the people who avail themselves for the services. The organization makes its products of the highest possible quality such that its supply will be increased with a lower power of buyers. This can be achieved through improved branding or by the ability to charge customers differing prices according to the differences in the value made for each buyer. For weight watchers international to achieve these forces, it has to understand where its powers lies hence taking advantage of the strengths, works hard to improve on the weaknesses and avoid repeating mistakes. This organization concentrates on competing for the value of the products rather than the rivalry of the other related organizations (Porter, 51-68). Internal analysis This looks into the factors within an organization and whose power determines its performance. These are strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats of it which the management should always put into consideration before implementing any new decision. The analysis of creativity and innovation management helps the organization to determine all these factors. Weight Watchers International Inc. as the mother of all other related organizations is very creative and innovative as it is responsible for the origin of the activity of watching and maintaining weight. It is also the pioneer of most of other inventions like online services which captures the attention of most of the audiences and especially those that do not have time to physically attend the sessions. This also enhances its further diversifications since it ensures that it is up to date and tries to increase its coverage by implementation of internet services and other mass media mediums like television and radio to increase the number of audiences and consumers (Fred, 23-43). The organization also has well established researchers who are keen on the most current things in the society and considers them so as to meet the moist recent needs of the societies hence it is still the most preferred by the consumers. From the beginning, its goal or objective is to successes and reach as many people as possible and that is why its services are extended in many parts of the world. The branding of the organization is unique such that by just displaying it the attention of the audiences is captured, it created a clear image of weight watchers in the minds of the viewers and it always communicated something new concerning the organization. This also boosted the marketing of the products of the organization as well as the audience’s awareness. Gap analysis Weight watchers is the leading organization concerning the maintenance of the proper body weight compared to the size. Its main objective is to reach many people as possible who have problems with their weights; according to the analysis this organization has help many individuals meet their dreams concerning the weight they wish to have. They are looking forward to extend their geographical coverage to as many nations as possible and offer the best services to meet present needs of the society and see to it that their services are always matching with the advancements in the communities. Recommendation The current management strategy of the weight watchers international should be sustained although regular assessment is recommended to ensure that all the activities taking place are up to date and very effective to the performance of the organization. The management should keep a keen eye on the external environment so as to be aware of any changes taking place and those that can affect the operations of the organization so as to consider them when planning for the management strategy. The micro environment should also be considered for instance changes in the prices of raw materials so as not to affect the profitability of the organization. These recommendations should be implemented to ensure that the operations of the organization fit the current market competition (Zentes & Morschett, 27-31). Conclusion It can therefore be concluded that Weight Watcher is the leading organization concerning maintenance of healthy bodies with suitable weight and size. This is because of its well strategized management and the flexibility especially in the short term planning. Before deciding on the beast decision to implement, the management considers both macro and micro environment so as to ensure that the decisions are most effective to the performance. The set strategy should be regularly assessed to ensure that it is updated to the happenings. Appendices Appendix 1: Summary of macro analysis FACTOR ISSUE ANALYSIS EFFECT ON INDUSTRY Technology Created a website weight watchers.com Increased the number of audiences used for advertising Globalization International ISO standards Improve the quality of the Services Economic inflation Changes in the prices of raw materials Reduce the profitability rates Flexibility of the short term Strategic planning. Appendix 2: Summary of industry analysis ITEMS ISSUE ANALYSIS IMPACT Degree of rivalry Competition with related firms Industry is able to make efforts to distinguish its services from the others. Threat of entry Environmental changes Improve its performance Threat of substitute Flexibility to switch the costs of the Enables the organization to products since there are fix necessities know the interests of the target group The power of the The appropriation of the product Determine the awareness of Buyer buyers concerning the Products Supplier power Proportion between the input Improve branding and quality and output of products Appendix 3: Summary of micro analysis Resources Technology: Weight watchers considers the advancement of technology like creating a Website which helps it enlarge its market. Power of labour: The organization has well skilled workers who are able to carry out market research and offer quality services. Organisation: The company is well organized from its central management to other Branches and various hierarchies well strategized according to levels of Operation. Work cited CIBC World Marketers. Weight Watchers International Inc. New York: CIBC World Marketers, 2007. Hubbard,Beamish. Strategic management. Toronto: Pearson, 2008. Porter, Michael. The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy, Harvard business Review, Harvard Business, 2008. Fred, David. Strategic Management: Cases. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002. Zentes, Joachim & Morschett, Dirk. Strategic Retail Management: Text and International Cases. Sheffield: Gabler Verlag, 2007. Eisner Alan, Korn Helaine & Dichiara Jennifer. Weight Watchers International Inc. New York: Pace University, 2009. Read More