Antecedents and Consequences of Marketing Strategy Making - Case Study Example

Report Analysis on David Jones Company Name Course Instructor Date Abstract It is important that a company takes stock of its operations every now and then. How often this may be will depend on a number of factors like the size of the organization and the complexity of its management structure as well as the nature of the business. At the same time, the means by which this will be done will be determined by a number of factors. Nonetheless, the most basic thing is that any business will require some kind of stock taking at one time or another, to measure the progress and onjure the way forward. Whatever the nature assumed by this report, it is important that it reflects the real occurrences around the environment from which the organization is operating. This study will develop a report based on a well known Australian Company known as David Jones. Cover Letter SUMMARY OF THE REPORT ON THE SITUATION OF THE COMPANY Trutel Management Consultants hereby presents this report to Mr. Peter Wilkinson the Chief Executive officer of David Jones Company. This report analyses in detailed the situation of the organization by looking at all the areas of development that concerns the organization in various ways from the survey carried out throughout the organization. Further, there is an analytical look of the company through the SWOT analysis methodology that interrogates the various points of on which the company is anchored. It also seeks to point out areas in which the company may be good at and would bring out better results if improved while looking into the environment in which it is operating using Porter’s Five Forces Model to look at the competition that may pose a threat to its very existence. This has been clearly stated and demonstrated to be able to show where the company needs more input and where more resources may be allocated o boost the companies overall gains This report is generally a scrutiny of the progress of the company that makes observations in regard to the process that the company has gone through. The report entails findings and recommendations for strategies that may be used to steer the company to the next level of its growth. It has been divided into sections that are clearly titled and assumes the format of an engaging discussion of David Jones Company It is highly recommended that the company adopts this report as it reflects the overall outlook of the organization besides highlighting the way the company‘s management structure may improve its performance amid competitive ideologies by rivals. Introduction Following the request by the Chief Executive office of David Jones Company, this report has been prepared to give an insight into the operations of the organization in terms of its general performance. The report seeks to give a detailed analysis on all aspects of the company and more so to look into the various programs that have been put in place to enhance profitability and maximize the input of human resources. The report also aims at looking into the assets and the liabilities of the company to be able to determine whether there is progress towards achieving the goals and standards that have been laid out for employees and management team at all levels. In this case, all records that may give some assistance to this end will be looked into. These may be in terms of receipts and auditor’s reports that may help by giving more details. The main aim of writing this report is to analyze the developments that have might have been experienced to any direction within the company. In other words this report seeks to highlight areas of strengths and weaknesses for the company and also make recommendations that would help improve areas that may be found to be defective or wanting. David Jones’ Current Situation From an analytical point of view, the company can be described as one that has sworn the hearts of many Australians to the point that it has gathered loyalty from customers, a factor that has given newer entrants a hard time trying to penetrate the market. The idea of sticking on to a specialized area of retail business has seen the company perfect its trade to a point of establishing keenly what the customers may need at particular time. From another angle, the company has strived to live to its mission statement which is outlined as, “to sell the best and most exclusive goods and to carry a stock that embraces the everyday wants of mankind at large” New Goals For the company Having established areas that need improvement and those that may be cited as strong points for the company, it may be important to come up with objectives and targets that will steer the organization in certain direction going into the future. Exploration of New Markets The organization has been predominantly an Australian company and one that may be seen ad concentrating its existence in the urban markets. This then limit its visibility in other areas where there might be potential customers. Since the company offers goods that are needed by humankind across the board, it is important to experiment how its performance would be in new areas. This in essence means opening of stores in markets where the company has not been completely. It is reported that the company has only about thirty seven outlet despite being such an old enterprise and this explains why there might be potential in other markets. This will deal with the threat of new and emerging market Adaptation of New Technologies It has been established that the company is relatively old. There need to upgrade its system from time to time to keep up with emerging trends. This will include measures such as adaptation of information technology (IT) systems to ensure that the company is not left behind by evolving trends. In addition this would ensure that there is a faster movement of consumer services in that the costumers will tend to take less time to be served at the stores. This will also help in proper record keeping techniques for the sake of ensuring that there is continued support to the financial department of the company. Adaptation of new products From time to time, new products hit the market from different manufacturers and it may happen that the company has not previously delved into this market for various reasons. For instance, the emergence of computer technology has seen entrepreneurs engage in retailing computer products and their appliances. Being a general retailer, the company may need to adapt such products so that it increases its range of products. This further attracts customers who would have otherwise looked into another direction. It also has another advantage in that customer who might be looking for these products in the stores of the company may bump into another product that may awaken their interest, a fact that may lead them to engage in impulse buying. New Management Structures. It is always important that a company tries out new models of management and governance to cope with challenges that crop up within this sector. In this respect, David Jones would need to review its leadership mechanism from time to time. This has happened before within the organization when it was seen to have dropped significantly in profits in 1997 and the CEO had to leave to pave way for reforms. A common practice is that companies take this step as remedial action but best practices would encourage a review of the management structure to ensure that there is incorporation of new ideas into the companies operations thus giving it a new breath of life when need be (Menon,1999). New Strategies for the Company Setting up an exclusive IT department: This will also help the company in a number of ways by taking various actions as outlined below: Hiring qualified information technicians Interconnecting the various departments within the organization Interconnecting various stores that are Conducting Research for new markets Some of the actions that the company may undertake to this end may include: Issuing of sample products to prospective buyers as means of testing the market Acquiring the services of a qualified market surveyors to conduct the research Incorporating new talent into the team This will require that the company engages in activities such as: Poaching for talented and experienced employees from other organizations Bringing in fresh and new employees preferably graduates who may have new ideas Reviewing the management periodically Reasons for Making these Recommendations As established, the company has still some potential that lies within its system of operations. Implementation of these recommendations is expected to uplift sales for the company and in return this is expected to improve the services offered by the company. Conducting a research before rolling out into the market will reduce the risk of the company indulging into the market blindly. This will ensure that the company has clearly established the areas that need to supplied and those that are profitable enough to boost its revenue. Consumers of different caliber have varied likes and tastes and it s therefore important to be almost sure that the market is not flooded or unproductive. The idea of hiring qualified information technicians is informed by the fact that companies have in recent times adapted technological advances to an extent that they advertise their products online. This team would therefore be charged with the responsibility of taking care of such advances to ensure that the company remains visible within the various media that exists. It is also common that these systems may experience defects due to their nature. A technical team on the ground would ensure that any mishap is corrected in time to avoid inconveniencing the customer. Generally, these recommendations are geared towards ensuring that the company remains competitive and profitable while at the same time retaining its own brand in name and services delivery. It is clear that building and maintaining a brand such as David Jones for so may years takes much effort and this effort must be guarded by putting in mechanisms that take care of the risks that are eminent in the market. For this reason these recommendations and strategies become useful and relevant for application in the situation of the David Jones. Conclusion The purpose of undertaking a process of scrutiny is to come up with a measure of how much progress has been made r to a particular direction while establishing are that need specific measures of improvement. For this reason, this report becomes an important tool for the management, employees and all other stake holders of David Jones. Through methodologies such as the SWOT analysis and the Five Completive Forces as presented in this report, the company undergoes a process of evaluation. David Jones as a departmental store can draw its strength from its age. Having been in existence since the 19th Century, it can be said that it has a rich history and this gives it an upper hand in that it may be said to have seen even the toughest of times like the several recessions that have been experienced over the years (Intelligent Investor, 2012). Forming partnerships and assuming different management models from time to time can also be said to have helped shape the organization in different ways. One scenario whose contribution to the development of the departmental stores cannot underestimate is the return of the founder David Jones, to the management of the company after his retirement. This was no doubt an inspirational moment and a demonstration of determination. One cannot fail to underline the fact that the company was able to rise from the imminent drop to oblivion as a result of his efforts to see it rise again and indeed these efforts paid off. The company has faced its fair share of competitors some of which have brought in new ideas in the retail market creating the need for David Jones Company to recreate in a number of ways. Amid all these needs to change David Jones has unlike many enterprises of its age never changed its name perhaps from the conviction that the customers have long distinguished its brands from others and have sustained loyalty out of its consistency in service delivery. References Intelligent Investor 2012, DJs: Great Store Sad Stock Retrieved 10/04/2012 from http://www2.davidjones.com.au/hampers/home.jsp Menon, A 1999, Antecedents and Consequences of Marketing Strategy Making. Journal of Marketing: American Marketing Association Porter, M 2008, The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy, Harvard Business Review. Schermerhorn J, James G., Richard N. Osborn & Elliott, J 2005, Organizational Behaviors, John Wiley & Sons, New York. ATTACHMENT # 1 SWOT Analysis on David Jones Company Definition and Use SWOT analysis is basically a methodology to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of an institution while still exploring the opportunities and potential or existing threats that may be facing it. This is done by relating these variables to mission statement of the company. Using the SWOT analysis, we may look evaluate David Jones company in a number of ways as presented in the table below. STRENGTHS Experience in the field of business thus establishing a niche that many customers can relate to and are loyal to defend Using favorable methods to ensure customer loyalty thus maintaining new customers while rewarding the old customers Distribution of stores thus accessibility by customers of different cluster in different places WEAKNESSES Overdependence on past performance may bring about a conservative way of sticking to ideologies leading to failure of trying to experiment new ideas. OPPORTUNITIES New markets in new environments including the international market THREATS New entrants coming up with new marketing strategies. ATTACHMENT # 2 Analysis of the company using Porters Five Competitive Forces The situation of preparedness in terms of expected competition for the company may be analyzed using the Porter’s Five Competitive Forces (Schermerhorn 2005). This can be demonstrated as follows. Threat of New Entrants (HIGH): Penetration into the market by ne entrepreneurs can pose a great challenge to an organization and must be handled strategically (Porter 2008). David Jones Company expects this to be a key are of competition. Retail businesses sprout with different ideas from time to time some coming up with competitive strategies. The main point of competition emerges from the imagination that the company has nothing new to offer and therefore new entrants would imagine of an untapped market Competitive Rivalry (HIGH): This is describe as the extent of competition between companies offering the same products The level of competition has been countered through customer loyalty and reward systems thus ensuring that the company continues to command a relatively sizeable market The quality of services experienced at the stores of David Jones also gives the company a competitive edge over its rivals and this ensures that customers continue to come in for various products. Threat of Substitute Products (LOW): It can be termed as a measure of the competition level posed by alternate products. This doesn’t pose a big challenge to the company since its stocks is a representative of products from selected manufacturers The power of Buyers (HIGH): This may also be termed as purchasing power For David Jones, the customer’s purchasing power may be viewed as varying from season to season but there is some consistency in the flow of customers throughout the year. This has also been captured in the mission statement of the company that describes the importance of catering for customer needs. The power of the supplier (HIGH) The ability of the supplier to ensure that there is a consistent flow of products may influence the market. David Jones has taken care of its supplies by having warehouses where goods are stocked for the current and future market Read More