The Providing Services to the Customer - Essay Example

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Introduction To stay in the present marketing world a company should have good support services. The competition among companies is high and they to stay at the top they are using aggressive marketing strategies. The operational management and the Human Resource (HR) departments have a bigger role to play in the development of the respective companies. The quality of the product should always be of high standard. Case Discussion The service side concentrates mainly on providing services to the customer. Customer care section plays an important role on deciding how good a company is and should be taken seriously at all times. To become a multinational company the management has to expand its units across the country. As company and its other units are slowly expanding so does the problems are increasing day by day. If HR division is not up to its task then it may be possible that XYZ Inc. may consistent drop in its financial structure that result in heavy losses in the business. The important factors were found to be the hiccups facing by the staff in delivering the goods on time, baggage handling and in customer care. On the manufacturing side XYZ Inc. was unable to meet the supply demand. They have been successful in manufacturing and supplying of small privately owned airplanes. Since the public interest shifted towards the branded name and the feel of first class look the company has to meet the requirements. But XYZ Inc. was slow in its production rate. To meet the market demand on the manufacturing side and to improve customer care service the management introduced some strategies. One of the important factors that should be concentrated is on customer care service. The staff should be trained and should be at best when dealing with customers. The quality of the service should be of high degree. With the help of modern technology the staff could be easily trained. Since customer service involves in making and receiving calls, they should be trained on VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), which is economical. On the manufacturing side the company has to speedup its operations because if it won’t meet the market demand it would loose potential ground. The best way is to lease some airplanes for sometime so that business continues and after completion of manufacturing they can introduce the planes in the market. Since costs are soaring high remedial steps should be taken immediately. Whether we agree or not the daily rise in prices is due to increase in oil per barrel in the gulf. Alternate steps should be taken to cope this problem. One suggestion is to cut the jobs, which is ethically incorrect. Other option is to shift the production base to any other place that offers the basic facilities at cheaper rate. In other words outsourcing is the best way to deal with rising costs. Branding Ford Motor company one of the oldest car manufacturing companies, if intending to acquire an ancillary unit or a vendor’s factory, any company will be more than glad because of the whooping amounts on the deal and the demand for the brand name. Ford has the best facilities to offer to its employees. Its infrastructure, its faculties, quality of management, vendor’s relations financial and cordial relations will be at par compared to other companies. Employee’s satisfaction is the primary aspect of the management. For example, if Ford has acquired a company and is not providing proper facilities to the employees ands is keen on attrition then the employees must form an association and should fight for the rightful emoluments from the company. Mergers may also have its negative effects on the employees and marketing strategies then the relation between the management should be positive enough so that there is no misunderstanding between the employer and the employee. After acquisition the new company will have their own planning strategies that might be entirely different and the employees need to co-operate and understand with new working policies and targets of the new company. Acquisition by Ford may be good for employees since it provides world-class work environment and possibilities to grow personally and professionally. Public Relation department for a company has become an essential department next to HR. PR’s are the face of the company since they have direct contact to the outer world and work as a medium within the company and the society as a whole. Hence mergers and acquisitions may be a bright prospect for the consumers, shareholders and partners. Let’s look at the BMW as another example as why consumers give importance to the branded names. Bevarian Motor work (BMW) as the abbreviation stand that is German company based in Munich. Bevarian motor works is an English translation from German language. It is Ayerische Motoren Werke, which we now call as BMW. BMW is the leading auto exporter of automobiles. The company Standard in 1913 by a Beverian Karl Rapp started an air craft engine shop is Munich. After four years Rapp designed the company led by Franz-Josef Popp changed its name to Buyerische Motoren works. The company has to take a major set back when the 1919 treaty of Versailles took a decision prohibiting German companies producing aircraft engines and aircraft. Due to the company started manufacturing motorcycles. One of its models R32 is also known for its speed during 1930’s. Though not allowed to produce aircraft the BMW Company entered automobile business by taking over Eisenach vehicle factory. Later it went on developing large touring cars and sports cars one of the model 328 sports car that was highly successful. The ending of World War II also witnessed the dismantling the company by the Allied forces. Though the company was dismantled it recouped and started making automobiles, and again came to the marked in 1950’s it rose to success after it begun manufacturing sports and turning cars. It was giving a tough competition to Mercedes Benz in luxury segment. The other two competitors like Toyota and Nissan gave tough competition and sales started steeply falling. Collapse of Berlin wall led B.M.W to outsold Mercedes Benz in Europe for the first time. An establishment in any country whether an industry or a Car manufacturing unit or for that matter any other plant shall give innumerable benefits that may be enjoyed by the countrymen as well as by the Government. There may be employment potentiality for the skilled and unskilled people which being the direct employment. People’s standard of living and the lifestyle would grow above for the pleasant environment and the economical growth. The government would also derive financial and economical benefits out of the revenue they get by the way of taxes. Indirectly as a result the subsidiary industries will boom and the production units also would start producing more number of product items. Research To be successful in any marketing business proper research has to be done before writing a business or marketing plan. A qualitative and quantitative research is must in developing an Information system. Qualitative research is more of collecting data, conducting interviews, using documents and to understand and explain social phenomenon. Quantitative research involves is of development of natural sciences to study natural phenomenon. Survey methods, formal methods, econometrics, etc., are some of the examples of quantitative research. The research involves finding potential problems in the present applications used and resolving them by updating them or using new applications. The researchers found the flexibility of a language enables it to be used by more clients. Another important factor probably the most important one is the cost. If the final product is expensive there will be only few takers for it. Therefore research has been done to use cost effective applications. Qualitative research methods are more often used as it involves observation of data that helps in finding solutions to the problems. Qualitative research has been categorised into three categories named as positivist, interpretive and critical. Positivist research methods involves attempt to test theory that to understand the predictive element of the phenomena. It involves formal propositions, hypothesis testing, measuring of quantifiable variables, etc. In this type of research it is assumed that the objectives are given in reality and can be measured by their properties. Interpretive research method involves sharing of information and social constructions such as language. Interpretive method is used to understand the meaning of the given information that was assigned to the researchers. Critical research as the name implies concentrates more on the critical view of the subject. It highlights the critical viewpoint of the situation that has to be analysed. Feasibility Study Feasibility study is an important phase in the development process. It enables the developer to have an assessment of the product being developed. It refers to the feasibility study of the product in terms of outcomes of the product, operational use and technical support required for implementing it. Feasibility study should be performed on the basis of various criteria and parameters. The various feasibility studies are: Economic Feasibility, Operational Feasibility and Technical Feasibility. Economic Feasibility: It refers to the benefits or outcomes. We are deriving from the product as compared to the total cost we are spending for developing the product. If the benefits are more or less the same as the older system, then it is not feasible to develop the product. The development of the new product should greatly enhance the accuracy of the system and cuts short the delay in the processing of the product. The errors can be greatly reduced and at the same time providing great level of security. Hence, we do not need any additional equipment except memory of required capacity. Operational Feasibility: It refers to the feasibility of the product to be operational. Some products may work very well at design and implementation but may fall in the real time environment. It includes the study of additional human resources required and their technical expertise. Technical Feasibility: It refers to whether the product that is available in the market fully supports the present trend. It studies the pros and cons of using particular product for the development and it’s feasibility. It also studies the additional training need to be given to the people to make the product work. Suggestions TOWA matrix (Threats-Opportunities-Weaknesses-Strengths) has been used to develop feasible alternative strategies. The matrix consists of four quadrants. They are (1) using strengths to overcome weaknesses, (2) Using strengths to overcome threats, (3) overcoming weaknesses to take advantage of opportunities and (4) overcoming weaknesses to address threats. First quadrant concentrates on possible strength-opportunity strategies. Important factors are to hire highly skilled workers, wide brand recognition, customer satisfaction, effectively and efficiently raising capital resources, etc. Second quadrant concentrates on possible strength-threat strategies. Important threats that have to overcome are changing government regulations, seasonal shopping, and competition from other competitors, protect business and customer information, currency exchange, etc. Third and Fourth quadrants concentrates on possible Weakness-Opportunity Strategies and Possible Weakness-Threat Strategy. Third quadrant looks at reviewing product, develop standards up to the customer satisfaction, etc. Fourth quadrant looks at implementing backup systems, implementing policies to protect and avoid security risks. Since these strategies give a wide range of choices to the customer they can be supported. Implementation Plan: The main plan for the system developed is to upgrading and existing system to proposed system. There are mainly 4 methods of upgrading the existing system to the proposed system: Parallel Run System, Direct Cut-Over Method, Pilot System and Phase-in Method. Parallel Run System: It is most secure method of converting from an existing to a new system. In this approach, both the systems are run in parallel for a specific period of time. During the period of if any serious problems were identified while using the new system, the new system is dropped and the older system is taken at the start point again. Direct Cut-Over Method: In this approach, the existing system is converted to the new system abruptly, some times over a weekend or even overnight. The old system is used until a planed conversion day. There exist no parallel activities. Pilot Method: In this approach, a working version of the system is implemented in one art of the organization such as a single work area or department. When the system is deemed complete it is installed through out the organization either all at once (direct cut-over) or gradually (phase-in). Phase-in Method: In this method, a part of the system is first implemented and over time, other remaining parts are implemented. CompTIA (Computing Technology Industry Association), PRINCE2 (Projects IN Controlled Environment), CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management), PMP (Project Management Professional), etc., are some of the organizations that set some standards for project management. The important aspect of any project is the proper management of the project. The management team has to be quick in decision-making and should be able to fit themselves in any abrupt situation. The main think tanks of the project management are the project managers or the project leaders. They are the persons, who make the vital decisions that make or break a project. In other words the future of the project is in their hands. The best way to handle a project is to divide the whole project into parts and assign them to the most probable candidates in the team. This decision is taken by the project management comprising of project manages or project leaders. In others to achieve the project goals the project managers use Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) method. This method enables managers to plan a project effectively, execute it accordingly and have a good control over the project. CompTIA has expanded worldwide and has associations with institutes like Thomson and Pearson PUE in order to conduct project management certificate examinations in different parts of the world. CAPM is other organization that sets standards for the project management through it certificate examinations, which tests project management skills and makes one know the terminology and methodology of a project. Let us look at the factors that a project depends on according to the project management organizations (i.e. CompTIA, CAPM, etc.,). Conclusion The HR division plays an important role in any organizational plans. It is the think tank of the company; they are the one who takes important decisions that comprises the management. Able and qualifies managers are the heart and soul of the company; therefore recruitment of qualified personnel is the requirement that should be fulfilled immediately. References Beardwell,I.,Holded,L. and Claydon, T. Human Resource Management: A Contemporary Approach (94th Ed. Prentice Hall, 2004) Chapter 13. Bratton, J. & Gold, J. Human Resource Management Theory and Practice (3rd Ed Palgrave Macmillan) Chapter 9. Steven Miles. Consumerism-as a way of life. London: Sage Publications Ltd. 1998. Read More