Research Articles Base: Customer Relationship Manager CRM

A CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ( CRM ) APPROACH TO GROWTH AND SUSTAINED: ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS

I would like to engage your service to complete my MBA project work. My project topic is on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). It is a case study of a company operation in the Asia Pacific region with the focus on how CRM could improve and sustain its competitive advantage. The project should analyse what influences the diverse cultural differences in the region have on the process of implementing a CRM strategy and what need to be customized in the CRM program in order to suit the local context / objectives of the company to increase its market share and maintain competitiveness in this region. I have proposed the project to be made up of 4 main parts (refer to project proposal) The intended length of the project is 12,000 words, in total. I have already started / completed the literature review (Part I) but needs revision to include a summary and references, as commented by the project supervisor. (Refer to attached supervisor’s comments) Part II is partially completed. Please find below, list of document attached ; 1) Approved Project Proposal 2) Writing Part I (need revision) 3) Writing Part II (Partial) 4) Comments from project supervisor (1) 5) Comments from project supervisor (2) 6) Reference articles (1) 7) Reference articles (2) 8)         corporate information/ presentation. 9) Company brochure of                   Ltd.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

A CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ( CRM ) APPROACH TO GROWTH AND SUSTAINED: ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS

I would like to engage your service to complete my MBA project work. My project topic is on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). It is...

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ( CRM )

Customer Relationship Management   Concept of Customer Relationship Management Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can be defined as the development and maintenance of mutually beneficial long-term relationships with strategically significant customers ( 2000). CRM according to  and  (2001) is an IT enhanced value process, which identifies, develops, integrates and focuses the various competencies of the firm to the ‘voice’ of the customer in order to deliver long-tern superior customer value, at a profit to well identified existing and potential customers. Customer relationship management focuses on strengthening the bond between customers and the firm by maximizing the value of the relationship for the benefit of both the customer and the firm. As a business philosophy, CRM is based upon individual customers and customized products and services supported by open lines of communication and feedback form the participating firms that mutually benefits both by buying and selling organizations. The buying and the selling firms enter into a ‘learning relationship’, with the customer being willing to collaborate with the seller and grow as a loyal customer. In return, the seller works to maximize the value of the relationship for the customer’s benefit. With the objective of most businesses today being to create and maintain loyal customers at a profit, CRM provides the platform for seeking competitive advantage by embracing customer needs and building value-driven long-term relationship ( 2003).   CRM and Marketing The starting point of a relationship marketing strategy is a deep understanding of why customers would want a relationship with you as a provider of value. The answer, stated simply, is that a sustained relationship with you must itself provide additional value to the customer. The growing adoption of a customer relationship management system is evidence that more and more providers are trying to put the customer’s interest at the heart of their business by integrating marketing, customer support, and other functions to maximize added value in a dialogical relationship. CRM is a holistic approach to the generation, production and representation of a value-creation system (marketing, customer service and logistics). The aim is to move the supply chain nearer to the customer to link customer needs and more directly into the management of supplies, design, manufacturing, packaging, transport, and the ultimate purpose of all this – profitable exchange. The technology captures and provides information about interaction history, enabling a consistency of experience for valuable customers in all interactions – inquiry, order, delivery, maintenance, upgrade and so on. CRM systems can send customers reminders about essential servicing and tailored offerings based on past trading history and personal information profiles ( 2001).     Marketing Mix: 4Ps The marketing mix can be defined as the blend of tools and techniques that marketers use to provide value for customers. It is most widely known as ‘4Ps’ : Place, Product, Price and Promotion. Place refers to the routes organizations take to get the benefits of the product or service organizations take to get the benefits of the product or service to the intended customers – channels of distribution. Product means both tangible product and service and all the ways in which an organization adds value. Price means not just the price charged, but also all aspects of pricing policy. Promotion is not just the more specialized ‘sales promotion’, but also every way in which a product is promoted to customers.   CRM and Marketing Mix Customer Relationship Management calls for a long-term beneficial relationship between the customer and the organization. Because of CRM, the marketing mix shifted from Place, Product, Price and promotion to a more ‘customer-focused’ approach. The marketing mix now is more concerned with the customers’ wants and concerns than do the Ps. Place, rather than implying organizations’ methods of placing products where they want them to be, can be thought of as ‘Convenience for the customer’, recognizing the customers’ choices for buying in ways convenient to them. Product, rather than being something that a company makes, which then has to be sold, can be thought of as a ‘Customer benefit’ – meaning satisfactions wanted by customers. Price may be what companies decide to charge for their products, but ‘Cost to the customer’ represents the real cost that customers will pay. Promotion suggests ways in which companies persuade people to buy, whereas ‘Communication’ is a two-way process also involving feedback from customers to suppliers ( and  2002).   The last several years saw the rise of Customer Relationship Management as an important business approach. Its objective is to return the world of personal marketing. The concept is relatively simple. Rather than market to a mass of people, market to each customer individually. In this one-to-one approach, information about a customer is used to frame offers that are more likely to be accepted ( and  2001).   CRM and Personalization Implementation of better technology is not what CRM really all about; it is about creating the process that promotes longer more beneficial customer relationship. Creating beneficial customer relationships entails a better knowledge of customers. Analysis of a given customer’s profile and every interaction with that customer will provide predictive information on his or her behavior and how he or she prefers to be treated. Only after this has been completed, will a company be prepared to personalize that customer’s experience through all customer touch points. Personalization is not only a critical cornerstone of CRM but also one of the most challenging to accomplish. A company must be able to effectively learn from each customer interaction, record the results of that learning to gain a better understanding of each customer’s preferences, and determine how the company can best serve that customer over his lifetime. This understanding will allow the company to communicate the right information to the customer at the right time using the right channel, and will ensure that all of those interactions are complete and consistent. The overall market place is raising customer expectations at the same time that brand loyalty is decreasing. With the competition as close as a mouse-click away in some cases, customers have come to expect that an organization will completely understand their needs and preferences ( and  2002).   Managing Key Customers Traditional marketing strategies focused on the 4Ps (place, product, price and promotion) to increase market share. The main concern was to increase the volume of transactions between seller and buyer (1999 cited in  and  2001). CRM is a business tactic the goes further than maximizing transaction volume. The purposes of CRM are to boost profitability, revenue, and customer satisfaction. A company wide set of tools, technologies, and procedures support the association with the customers to raise sales. CRM is primarily a strategic business and process issue rather than a technical issue. CRM consists of three components: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Customer – The customer is the only source of the company’s present profit and future growth. However, a good customer, who supplies more profit with less resource, is always limited since customers are well informed and the competition is fierce. Information technologies can provide the abilities to distinguish and manage customers. CRM can be thought as a marketing approach that is based on customer information ( 1999 cited in  and  2001).</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Relationship – The relationship between a company and its customers involves continuous bi-directional communication and interaction. The relationship can be short-term or long-term, continuous or discrete, and repeating or one-time. Relationship can be attitudinal or behavioral. Even though customers have a positive attitude towards the company and its products, their buying behavior is highly situational ( 1999 cited in  and  2001).</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Management – CRM is not an activity only within a marketing department. Rather it involves continuous corporate change in culture and process. The customer information collected is transformed into corporate knowledge that leads to activities that take advantage of the information and the market opportunities. CRM required a comprehensive change in the organization and its people ( and  2001).</li> </ul>   Maintaining Beneficial and Delightful Relationship: Relationship Marketing Rather than pursue a market relationship to bring a product and a consumer/.buyer together, relationship marketing and CRM attempt to establish and cultivate a marketing relationship that enables cooperative problem solving. Communication is participated in for the purpose of informing, answering, listening, aligning and matching. Maintaining beneficial and delightful relationship with the customers is possible through the following: Retention of selected customers, rather that recruiting new ones to replace valued defectors. <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">A focus on long-term associations, with an orientation to identifying and meeting future customer needs.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">A focus on service benefits rather than features – a system orientation which customizes offerings, including communication, through interaction.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Emphasis on high levels of customer service through repetitive interaction.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">High levels of commitment based on promises to and from selected customers.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">High level of customer contact.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Interactive-marketing function connected with all other business functions, not separated like the traditional marketing function.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Interactive marketing supported by marketing mix activities – customers involved in design of solutions, rather than unilateral attempts to change attitudes.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">People in the supplier organization become critical marketing resources as ‘part-time marketers’. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Direct management of customer portfolio.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Continuous real-time dialogue with customers.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">The seller considers relationship marketing as a communication process that enhances the relevance of the seller’s offering.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">The buyer considers relationship marketing as a communication process that should enhance the relevance of the seller’s offering ( 2001).</li> </ul>   Relationship marketing focuses on the individual customer, but also other stakeholders, and seeks to manage the relationships to add value for each person ( 2001).   Good CRM: Customer Retention and Loyalty The CRM approach is customer-centric. This approach focuses on the long-term relationship with the customers by providing the customers benefits and values from the customers’ point of view rather than based on what the company wants to sell. The basic questions that CRM tries to answer are: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">What is the benefit of the customer?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">How can we add the customer’s value?</li> </ul> Four basic tasks are required to achieve the basic goals of CRM (,  1999 cited in  and  2001). <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Customer Identification – To serve or provide value to the customer, the company must know or identify the customer through marketing channels, transactions, and interactions over time.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Customer Differentiation – Each customer has their own lifetime value from the company’s point of view and each customer imposes unique demands and requirements for the company. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Customer Interaction – Customer demands change over time. From a CRM perspective, the customer’s long-term profitability and relationship to the company is important. Therefore, the company needs to learn about the customer continually. Keeping track of customer behavior and needs is an important task of a CRM program.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Customization/Personalization – “Treat each customer uniquely” is the motto of the entire CRM process. Through the personalization process, the company can increase customer loyalty.</li> </ul>   Principles of CRM The overall processes and applications of CRM are based on the following basic principles. <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Treat Customer Individually – Remember customers and treat them individually. CRM is based on philosophy of personalization. Personalization means ‘content and services’ to customer should be designed based on customer preferences and behavior ( 1999 cited in  and  2001). Personalization creates convenience to the customer.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Acquire and Retain Customer Loyalty through Personal Relationship – Once personalization takes place, a company needs to sustain relationships with the customer. Continuous contacts with the customer – especially when designed to meet customer preferences – can create customer loyalty ( and  2001).</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Select Good Customer based on Lifetime Value – Find and keep right customers who generate the most profits. Through differentiation, a company can allocate its limited resources to obtain better returns ( and  2001).</li> </ul>   Customer Life Cycle Customer relationship management is its broadest sense simply means managing all customer interactions. In practice, this requires using information about the customers and prospects to more effectively interact with the customers in all stages of the organization’s relationship with them (customer life cycle). The stages of customer life cycle are: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Acquiring customers – The first step in CRM is to identify prospects and convert them to customers. CRM helps organizations to better understand their customer’s needs.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Increasing the value of the customer – Personalization is the key to increasing the value of the product or service of the customer.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Retaining good customers – The cost of acquiring a new customer exceeds the cost of keeping good customers.</li> </ul>   Product Life Cycle Stages <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Introductory Stage – Losses or at best profits are experienced often during the introductory stage. This is because sales are low and promotion and distribution costs are relatively high ( 2000). </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Growth Stage – New competitors enter the market attracted by the prospect of large-scale production potential and the large profits to be made as the market grows in size and economies of scale come into operation. There is little change in prices and promotional expenditure fro the introductory stage, though both may be slightly reduced. Sales are expanding during this stage ( 2000).</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Maturity Stage – The maturity stage follows on from the onset of the decline in the rate of sales growth. The latter produces over-capacity in the industry in which in turn leads to increased competition. It is a stage in which profits decline. During the maturity stage, firms implement frequent price reductions and increase advertising and consumer promotions ( 2000).</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Decline Stage – sales of most products eventually start to decline for one or more of several reasons. These include technological progress, shifts in consumer tastes and increased domestic and foreign competition ( 2000).</li> </ul>   Dealing with Customers as Partners Amazon has adapted well to the new customer. The company recommends books based on the buyers’ previous purchases and on other customers who have bought similar books. As preference change, Amazon makes suggestions to reflect these changes. Co-creating personalized experiences is a strategy as firms aim toward micro segmentation – namely the market of one. Customers have become co-creators of products and services by selecting from a menu of features. Organizational flexibility becomes the thrust as firms endeavor to satisfy changing customer desires. Market segmentation research is designed to identify market segments within a larger market and to recognize the needs and wants of one or more groups so that the marketing mix can be directed toward the satisfaction of their needs. The study of buyer behavior is helpful in learning about the characteristics that consumers’ exhibit in searching for, purchasing, and evaluating the goods and services they seek ( 2003).   CRM and Product Awareness In the past, the prime approach to attracting new customers was through media and mail advertising about what the firm has to offer. This advertising approach is undiscriminating, reaching many people including current and people who would never become customers.     IMPLEMENTING CRM: AMAZON.COM   The US-based company Amazon is well known as the world’s biggest e-Retailer of books, head to head with  and  for the title of the world’s largest bookstore, even though Amazon sells online only. From a start-up in 1995, annual sales have grown to more than billion and the company has 2.5 million customers – but reported its first profit only in2002. Other products include CDs and videos. The UK site () was formed in 1998 by the takeover of Bookpages, and the UK is now Amazon’s biggest market outside the USA. Amazon.co.uk followed the US parent’s example of using heavy advertising to promote brand awareness. Traffic to the site is encouraged using the affiliate system. For example, popular search engines such as AltaVista offer links to books related to the key words. The site is user-friendly, enabling e-Shoppers to find books quickly by title, author or subject. Users can find their title in seconds from a few keywords. Synopses and contents lists are provided, along with a list of other relevant books. Amazon keeps a record of customers’ preferences and advises when new books likely to be of interest are published. One of the main selling propositions is a discount of up to 40 per cent – but such deep discounting made it hard for the company to reach profitability. Amazon is renowned for customer service, security and fast delivery ( and  2002).   Personalization When customers buy something from Amazon.com, they can see the following statement; “Customers who bought this item also bought these items”. If a customer has a previous purchasing experience with Amazon.com, the company will support a ‘Welcome to Recommendations’ Web page. The personalized Web pages, vast selection of products, and low price lead customer loyalty and long-term relationship of Amazon.com. More than 20 million people have purchased at Amazon. Com. The percentage of returning customers is about 15 to 25 percent, compared with 3 to 5 percent for other e-business retailers. Amazon.com assembles large amounts of information on individual customer buying habits and personal information. Based on a customer’s previous purchases and Web surfing information, Amazon.com recommends books, CDs and other products. Sometimes a customer buys additional products because of this information. Through it ‘1-Click’ system, which stores personal information such as credit card number and shipping address, Amazon.com simplifies the customer buying process ( 2000 cited in  and  2001).   Data Mining Data Mining can be used to build a picture of products most likely to be wanted by individual customers. Products tailored specifically can be offered pro-actively. Amazon uses such a system to match new books to existing customers who are likely to be interested in them ( 2004).   Differentiation and Customization Information technology enables forms to pay more attention to what makes consumers different from one another. Focusing on such variation serves as the basis for positioning a brand as being highly intimate with consumers. Amazon uses customers’ purchase histories to make suggestions about additional books that they might enjoy. The system is based on detecting patterns in the purchase histories of other customers who have bought some of the same books as the target customer. Such automatic response systems are simply usage-based segmentation systems that capitalize on the firm’s database to create more customized communications than traditional mass media ( 2001). Even though one can search online and find the identical book at a lower price than at Amazon.com, Amazon is the clear leader in selling books online. This is a combination of greater awareness of Amazon and unique value. Amazon built a customer-focused principle. It targets customers on a one-to-one basis through Internet-based services.   Unique Customer Value and Experience Amazon created a unique value in their customer interaction through customer relationship management. Amazon through its deep understanding of the way customers shop and the customers’ need for support in their purchasers have successfully integrated CRM. By providing recommendations based on past purchasing behavior and the opportunity to know that ‘customers who bought this book also bought’, or what other readers/listeners/viewer have thought of the product offer opportunity to the customers to make informed decisions and potentially extend their purchases. A leading example of CRM is shown by the Amazon website, where the customers have an enjoyable experience in buying a book, but can also view their own information such as: previous purchases, review recommendations, track delivery and be informed of new releases, updates and news. The customer has a positive experience being informed of the transaction status and returns vital profile information for future targeted support products.   One-to-One Marketing Amazon.com has developed a one-to-one marketing strategy. The customers are identified individually and classified in terms of their purchase and consumption habits and preferences. This is done through data mining and purchase histories. The customers are differentiated in terms of why they buy a particular product to gain a greater share of their total purchasing power.   Conclusion Customer Relationship Management is all about the creation and maintenance of equally beneficial and long-term relationship between the organization and its customer. It focuses on strengthening the bond between customers and the organization by increasing the value of the relationship for the benefit of both the customer and the organization. CRM starts with information and knowledge. It is of utmost importance that the organization understands its customers’ needs, wants and preferences. Adapting CRM means a change in marketing focus. The organization must build a more customer-focused approach to marketing. CRM is a marketing approach that is based on customer information. The relationship between an organization and its customers involves mutual communication and interaction. In order to effectively utilize the CRM strategy the organization must: 1. Identify the customers 2. Differentiate each customer 3. Interact with the customers 4. Personalized or customized products   CRM is based on the philosophy of personalization. Each customer should be treated individually and uniquely. Content and services to customers should be designed based on customer preferences and behavior. Personalization leads to customer loyalty if the organization maintains effective communication with the customers.     References Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ( CRM )

Customer Relationship Management Concept of Customer Relationship Management Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can be defined as...

Stakeholder Analysis Report: Bell Fire Equipment

Stakeholder Analysis Report: Bell Fire Equipment             Executive Summary             Stakeholder analysis serves the purpose of identifying the various stakeholders of business organisations as well as determining the extent of relationship and influence that these have on the business firm. Key stakeholders or those with the strongest influence on the firm are likely to direct firm operations as well as management and marketing efforts. However, there is also need to consider common interests to accommodate various stakeholders that influence the organisation albeit to varying degrees as a means of maximising outcomes. The stakeholder analysis of Bell Fire Equipment applied the new stakeholder view that classified stakeholders within the dimensions or resource base, industry structure, and socio-political arena that also comprise the different relationships with the company that in turn affects wealth creation. The most significant stakeholders of the company are its employees taking charge of product innovation to meet the changing demand of employees, customers that determine demand, government and private companies that constitute the primary market and collaboration partners. By identifying its stakeholders, the company can then develop strategies that accommodate the interests and perspectives of these stakeholders to support wealth creation and ultimately sustainability.   Table of Contents Executive Summary. 2 Table of Contents. 3 Introduction. 4 Company Background. 4 Purpose of the Report 4 Scope of the Report 4 Stakeholder Analysis. 5 Procedure/Theory/Framework. 5 Stakeholders and Impact on Bell Fire Equipment 6 Specific Stakeholders. 9 Conclusion. 10 Recommendations. 10 Appendices. 10 Reference List 12     Introduction Company Background             Bell Fire Equipment is a small firm in the fire protection industry with 30 employees delivering wide-ranging products and services including fire protection equipment and installation, maintenance, and training services. The company holds long-term contracts with government agencies for the provision of fire protection products and services as well as maintenance and repair of fire protection equipment. (Bell Fire Equipment 2008) Purpose of the Report             The report covers stakeholder analysis of Bell Fire Equipment by identifying the different stakeholders of the company and determining the influence that these have on the strategies of the company. This operates due to the recognition that stakeholders, directly and indirectly influence strategic decision-making and planning in the company through the value accorded by the company to their respective interests. Scope of the Report             The report is limited only to the discussion of the framework used in the stakeholder analysis as well as the stakeholder analysis of Bell Fire Equipment. However, the results and conclusion can have implications to similar firms. Stakeholder Analysis Procedure/Theory/Framework             Stakeholders refer to the parties associated with a business organisation accruing gains or losses depending on the success or failure of the strategic actions of the company (Friedman 2007). It becomes important for the company to identify all its stakeholders and determine ways of winning the different stakeholders to support the implementation of the strategic plans (French & Delahaye 1996).             A stakeholder analysis is the approach and tool that enables the company to investigate the parties and the extent of influence that these have on the goal achievement of the company. This contributes the core benefit of utilising the interests and opinions of powerful stakeholders to support business success. (Prost, Preston & Sachs 2002)             The framework of the stakeholder analysis is the new stakeholder analysis view (Prost, Preston & Sachs 2002) shown below. This converted the traditional stakeholder view by identifying the relative positions of the stakeholders with regard to three dimensions, which are resource base, industry-market, and socio-political aspect. The relative position of the stakeholders then affects the wealth creation process of the organisation. This finds basis on the principle that relationships instead of transactions create wealth in organisations so that understanding stakeholders in terms of the extent of influence relationship instead of the frequency or nature of transactions with stakeholders is more important. However, the organisation needs to determine critical stakeholders with whom to establish long-term relationships to ensure successful wealth creation. Stakeholders and Impact on Bell Fire Equipment             Bell Fire Equipment has a number of stakeholders shown below.                                        The safety design engineers, sales and marketing personnel, and administrative personnel fall under the resource base stakeholders of the company. Bell Fire Equipment has an innovative culture to support its continuous and intensive engagement in research and development of state of the art fire equipment. This means the key role of innovative safety design engineers and marketing personnel in continuously gaining new knowledge to improve existing products and develop new fire equipment for its market (Prusak 1997). The extent of innovativeness of employees determines the success of the company in achieving improved products and services that meet the changing needs of its customers (Thompson, Strickland & Gamble 2007); especially since the occurrence of various fire-related incidents and anticipation of possible fire scenarios increase the demand for effective fire protection equipment, knowledge and skills. In addition, the extent of direction of employees towards collaboration, teamwork and information sharing also constitute another area of employee influence on the company through effective direction or leadership of administrative personnel. However, there are also problems in relation to these stakeholders, which include efficiency in resource utilisation as well as collaboration between the safety design engineers and marketing departments in introducing new products to the market.             Households and business firms within the Picton & Kwinana/Southern Metropolitan Industrial Areas together with the Career Fire & Rescue Service of Western Australia (the fire department servicing Western Australia) are the firm’s customers also forming part of the resource base of the company. The fire department is the firm’s longest and biggest customer in terms of sales. These exercise influence through repeat purchases, loyalty to the company, long-term engagement of the services of the company, collaborative relationship with the company to identify problem areas and determine areas of improvement, and uptake of new products and service features (Neale 1997; Porter 1998) and to a greater extent by the fire department. Through these areas of influence, the continuity of the relationship of the company with the fire department determines its wealth creation and sustainability. This implies the need to exercise customer-oriented management, focusing on this specific customer, for the company to meet long-term demand to prevent switching especially large-value contracts with the fire department.             National Australia Bank is the primary R&D investor falling under the resource base of the company by extending investment loans to the company.  Since the company is heavily engaged in product and system innovation, it requires financial resources to support this area of operation. However, not all R&D investors provide valuable terms to the company so that the firm has to determine investors willing to accept the basic terms that allow the company to optimise returns (Friedman 2007).             The Fire Protection Association, Industrial Design Council of Australia, and Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia are the regulatory authorities under the industry structure dimension. The Fire Protection Association provides safety standards for fire protection products and services. The Industrial Design Council of Australia recognises different innovations in various areas including fire protection as incentives for continuous innovations. Compliance with the requirements of regulatory authorities influences the company’s business success in terms of the continuity or renewal of its license to conduct business and the consistent product quality (Murphy 1996). However, there are also problems such as the communication of new regulations to the company and consistency of quality of materials obtained from suppliers that could affect the firm’s operations.             Honda is the biggest supplier of engines for the company’s fire fighting vehicles sold to the Career Fire & Rescue Service of Western Australia. Honda is a known car manufacturing company with a good reputation for its engines so that this supplier aligns with the efficiency goal of the company. However, quality issues of Honda would adversely affect the company requiring consistency in the quality of Honda’s engines.             Career Fire & Rescue Service of Western Australia (the fire department of Western Australia) and the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia (the regulatory authority charged with the development of fire protection priorities and policies) are the stakeholders under the socio-political arena dimension. These organisations represent the interest of public welfare, which the company needs to integrate into strategic decisions to be in good standing with these organisations. In addition, the fire department is the company’s longest contractual partner requiring the company to engage in processes such as biding for government contracts and handling political issues as well as establish wide-ranging networks with different private companies. However, a problem that could arise is the involvement of the company in political conflicts (Dyllick & Hockerts 2002) in connection with these stakeholders. Specific Stakeholders             Based on the influence of the various stakeholders on the strategic management of the company, the most significant stakeholders are design engineers, marketing personnel, administrative personnel, Career Fire & Rescue Service of Western Australia, and Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia. The group of employees and managers are included as significant stakeholders since they determine the ability of the company to meet its value offering to customers and support sustainability. The fire department was included as an important stakeholder since these determine the direction of product and service development and marketing strategies.             Determining stakeholder inclusion in decision-making of the business is through the extent of the relationship with the company and impact on the operations of the company. Stakeholders with strong and positive long-term relationship with the company are the key stakeholders (Cooper 2004). The strength of relationship can be determined by the respective attributes of stakeholders as promoters, defenders, latents and apathetics respectively according to the degree of influence. The group of employees and managers together with the fire department are promoters. This is an important technique in assessing stakeholders as contexts change. Conclusion             The stakeholder analysis supports the direction of stakeholder decision-making at Bell Fire Equipment. In the case of the company, its most significant stakeholders highly influence the decisions of the company on the direction of product development and service enhancement as well as management and marketing strategies to support long-term sustainability of the company. Recommendations             Bell Fire Equipment should conduct regular stakeholder analysis to keep track of the perspectives of parties influencing the company who are also affected by firm decisions and activities, especially when changes or shifts are occurring in relation to its stakeholders. The stakeholder analysis of Bell Fire Equipment selected five key stakeholders.  These stakeholders were picked because these establish the strongest relationship of influence with the company and parties providing important insights into business decisions and operations.   Appendices Summary of Stakeholder Analysis Shareholders Effect on Business Impact  high/low Potential Resource Base            Employees           Safety Design Engineers Customer responsiveness through quality innovative products and services High Inventions and innovations Sales & Marketing Personnel Customer relationship management High Market expansion and customer loyalty Administrative Personnel Strategic leadership and decision-making High Sustainable competitiveness Customers       Households and Business Firms within the Picton & Kwinana/Southern Metropolitan Industrial Areas Continuity of demand Low Expansion of business networks Career Fire & Rescue Service of Western Australia Direction of product and service development High Collaboration in areas of innovation     R&D Investors       National Australia Bank Capitalisation, risk sharing Low Larger volume of investments to support innovative expansion Industry Structure       Regulatory Authorities       Fire Protection Association   Regulates the safety of fire protection products Low More effective incentives to support greater positive impact on business operations Industrial Design Council of Australia   Regulates and recognises innovative designs Low Recognition of designs for the advancement of intellectual property rights Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia Sets out guidelines to support fire protection priorities and needs Low New guidelines supporting developing issues in fire protection Suppliers       Honda (engine) Efficiency, cost minimisation Low Outsourcing, mergers, partnerships Socio-Political Arena       Career Fire & Rescue Service of Western Australia Large-scale and long-term collaboration High Sponsorship of researches and wider collaboration Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia Large-scale and long-term collaboration Low Sponsorship of researches and wider collaboration           Reference List Bell Fire Equipment 2008, Bell Fire – Profile. Available from: <http://www.bellfire.com.au/profile.asp> [Accessed 22 August 2008]   Cooper, S 2004, Chapter 2 : Business in Society : Ethics and Stakeholders in Cooper, Stuart, Corporate social performance: a stakeholder approach, Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate Publishing Limited, pp.13-42.   Dyllick, T & Hockerts, K 2002, ‘Beyond the Business Case for corporate sustainability,’ Business Strategy and the Environment, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 130-141.   French, E & Delahaye, B 1996, ‘Individual change transition moving in circles can be good for you,’ Leadership and Organization Development Journal, vol. 17, no. 7, pp. 22-28.   Friedman, M 2007, ‘The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits’ in Corporate ethics and corporate governance, K Richter and M Holzinger, Springer, Berlin, pp.173-178.   Murphy, R 1996, Defining and Practising Business Ethics in Woldring, Klaas (Ed.), Business ethics in Australia and New Zealand: Essays and Cases, South Melbourne, Vic: Thomas Nelson Australia, pp. 42-50.   Neale, A 1997, ‘Organisational learning in contested environments: Lessons from Brent Spar.’ Business Strategy and the Environment, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 93-103.   Porter, ME 1998, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, New York: Free Press.   Prost, J, Preston, L & Sachs, S 2002, ‘Managing the extended enterprise: the new stakeholder view,’ California Management Review, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 6-28.   Prusak, L 1997, Knowledge in organizations, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Thompson, AA, Strickland, AJ & Gamble, JE 2007, Crafting and executing strategy: The quest for competitive advantage, 15th ed., New York: McGraw Hill Irwin.           Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Stakeholder Analysis Report: Bell Fire Equipment

Stakeholder Analysis Report: Bell Fire Equipment Executive Summary Stakeholder analys...

Information Technology and Procter and Gamble

Information Technology and Procter and Gamble Application of IT in Procter and Gamble             IT enables error-free and efficient data gathering in different departments and areas of the business from the procurement and inventory, transaction processing and recording and financial management, marketing and customer relationship management up to the human resource management. This has been done by application of IT to the process of controlling and managing the data coming from the different process of the companies, from the inventory, in knowing the current status of stocks, to the different Point of Sales or POS that collects the data regarding the demands of the customers, that can help in marketing and customer relation in terms of forecasting the buying behavior of the customers, up to the process of controlling the human resource.             Open system or a system that implements sufficient open specifications for the interfaces, services as well as the supporting formats in order to enable properly engineered components for utilization across a wide range of systems with the minimal change (Software Engineering Institute 2008).             The company uses almost everything regarding the computer, such as servers, that handles the heavy processing, PCs for each working station or POS, mainframe and super computer for global processing. In terms of input devices, keyboard, scanners are used in each and ever office, while the bar code reader and other card reading devices are used in the POS of the company. In terms of output devices, it used different types of printer, regarding on the printing needs.             The company is using different types of software, from the individual PC operating system up to the network operating system. Furthermore, there are also varieties of application software that are used, for the implementation and maintenance of their database and websites.             Due to the fact that the company is operating in international basis, it uses the Internet, together with the intranet and extranet for their internal and external communications, from and to their different stakeholders.             There are three types of information that are required of the MIS of the company, including the strategic that helps to come up with the decisions about the marketing, the technical, which focus on the result of the implementation, and operational that focuses on the actual process of the company. In P&G, the key ratios, strategic plan, market analysis and control are important because it enables them to know about the behavior and flow of demand of the customers, and apply it with the current strategy of the company. In technical way, variance analysis and exception reports are needed because it enables the company to analyze the difference between what they have expected and what are the actual situations. Above all, the operational information focuses on the current or important input data that will serve as the basis for all of the decision or output of the system such as the invoices and orders.             There are four major departments that handle the most important aspects of the company such as the financial departments that handles the different processes and issues regarding the accounts, debtors and payroll. Furthermore, the purchasing department is the one that handles the orders issued and the stock selection of the company. The HR department handles the different aspects regarding the labor such as the staffing, skills, absenteeism as well as the level of skills and shortage. On the other hand, as the complementary department of purchasing department, the sales and marketing departments focuses on outflow of data such as turnover, sales rations and market intelligence.             Report is considered as the most important aspects of any system, in terms of the company, it is important because, they have to show to their customers and to the public the performance of their company in terms of their annual report. Their reports are shown in terms of tabulation such as the different quantities and values, the sub-totals and totals, as well as the percentages of the different bases. Furthermore, the graphical presentation focuses on the movement of the sales orders in terms of line graphs, pie graphs and bar graphs in showing the segmentation of their market and products. Information Flow                             Figure 1 Information Flow                 Figure 1 shows the information flow inside the company, it shows that all of the departments are all connected with the financial department that handles the financial issues of the company. The company is using the Internet in terms of sharing information, this can be seen by their relationship with their customers by their e-marketing, furthermore, the employees, in different part of the globe are using their own intranet for their learning management.             It is important to have accurate as well as update information, because it has a great impact in the decision-making process of the company that will reflect in their strategies towards their market.             The application of IT in the overall internal and external aspects of the company can be considered as almost perfect, however, it is important to take note of the different possibilities that might come up in the future such as the different security issues. Furthermore, it also important to consider the possible threat such as viruses, spam as well as denials of service of DoS, that is why it will be important to apply different applications and software that will prevent those such as anti-virus and anti-spam, together with the firewalls and encryption.             On the other hand, it is also important to consider that there are different responsibilities that are related to the use of IT and computer technology in terms of the storage of information. Primarily, the Data Protection Act of 1998 shows the 8 principles in protecting the personal and policy, together with the practice in monitoring the computer use of the employee, and the privacy information. The Computer Misuse Act 1990, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations of 2003, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and Environmental Information Regulation 2004, The Telecommunications Regulations 1999, the Electronic Communications Act, the Electronic Regulations 2003 as well as the roles of the Information Commissioner are important to consider.   References 1999 Annual Report, P&G, viewed 17 September, 2004, <http://www.pg.com/co             ntent/pdf/02_investor/financial_reports/annual_report/annual_report_1999.          pdf>   2000 Annual Report, P&G, viewed 17 September, 2004, <http://www.pg.com/co             ntent/pdf/02_investor/financial_reports/annual_report/annual_report_2000.          pdf>   2001 Annual Report, P&G, viewed 17 September, 2004, <http://www.pg.com/ann             ualreports/2001/pdf/pg_ar2001.pdf>   2002 Annual Report, P&G, viewed 17     September, 2004,    <http://www.pg.com/annualr             eports/2002/pdf/pg_ar2002.pdf>   2003 Annual Report, P&G, viewed 17 September, 2004, <http://www.pg.com/an             nualreports/2003/pdf/pg2003annualreport.pdf>   Management Information Guide 2007, Credit Unions, FSA, viewed 4 September 2008, <http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Doing/small_firms/unions/pdf/mi_gu ide.pdf>   Open Systems 2008, Software Engineering Institute, viewed 4 September 2008, viewed 4 September 2008, <http://www.sei.cmu.edu/opensystems/faq.ht ml> Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Information Technology and Procter and Gamble

Information Technology and Procter and Gamble Application of IT in Procter and Gamble IT enables error-free and efficient d...

Organizational Behavior of Starbucks Corporation

Organizational Behavior   Structure, Culture, Goals and Objectives of Starbucks Corporation             Starbucks is considered as the number specialty coffee retailer in the world, having more than16, 000 coffee shops in more than 35 countries. All of the outlets are offering coffee drinks as well as food items, together with the roasted beans, coffee accessories and teas (Hovers 2008). Starbucks is a corporation or a legal entity that is created through the laws of its state of incorporation. The law treats a corporation as a legal person that has its standing to sue and be sued, distinct from its stockholders; therefore, it gives the shareholder the legal independence from being personally responsible for the debts of the corporation (Cornell University Law School n.d.).             Furthermore, Starbucks is well-known for its service and connection to their customers, and it can be seen due to the culture of the human resource management of the company. This can be seen in the service of the cashiers and other staffs of every store of the company in every locations, most of them are closed and know the customers, that gives them the atmosphere and environment that they belong and comfortable. Furthermore, the company is also offering good management in their human resource by giving them good compensation and comprehensive benefit package, employee training and employee stock plan and stock purchase plan.             All of the said factors are the solutions and plans of the company in order to achieve their primary objective, which is to establish their company as the most recognized and respected brand in the globe (Starbucks Coffee 2008). This can be done by maintaining the loyalty of their customers worldwide, by giving them what they want and need, as well as continuing its expansion in different part of the world.   Impact of Structure, Culture, Management and Leadership Style in Meeting Starbucks Corporation’s Goals             The structure, culture, management as well as leadership style are important aspects in meeting the desired goal of the company. In terms of the culture, management and leadership, it had been able to create a great environment in working. The company is considering their employees as their partners that are why Starbucks is considered as top 16 Fortune Best Companies to Work For. Due to proper compensation, proper training and good communication between the staffs and managers, it gives the employees the feeling that the company is giving them importance (Argenti & Forman 2002, p. 87). The managers are listening to the comments and suggestions of their staffs, by letting them open regarding the flaws of the proposals that will help to decide regarding the problem (Hammers 2003). Furthermore, the said satisfaction of the employees reflects to their working relationships with the customers that added as marketing strategies and customer relation management of the company.             Furthermore, the Starbucks also focuses on their organizational competencies as part of their management process, which focuses on their relationship with their stakeholders such as their suppliers, partners and their customers. As a result, it had affected the image of the company as well as their position in the market, because of their relationship, particularly, with the farmers or their suppliers.   Further Improvement For Starbucks Corporation             Starbucks is facing difficulties, just like other companies in the United States due to the crisis in the said country, as well as its domino effect in other countries in the world. That is the reason why it will be important for the company to continue their improvement and development in terms of their organizational behavior, and all the aspects that are related in the said subject.             Primarily, it will be important to focus more on decentralized management in each and every store of the company in the world; this is due to the fact each and every country as well as place in the world have their own culture that can affect the behavior of the customers. Furthermore, it will also be important to focus on giving their customers more incentive, like freebies in order to improve the relationship and connection.             In order to improve the service and performance of the staffs, it will be important to maintain and improve their training programs and processes that focus on their products and their customer relationship management.    References Argenti, P (2002), The Power of Corporate Communication: Crafting the Voice and Image of Your Business, McGraw-Hill Professional   Corporations, Cornell University Law School, viewed 4 September 2008, <http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/corporations>   Debra, L. & Quick, J. 2006 (5th Edition), Organizational Behavior: Foundations, Theories, and Analyses, Oxford University Press, New York   Hammers, M 2003, Starbucks is Pleasing Employees and Pouring Profits, Workforce Management, viewed 4 September 2008 , <http://www.workforce.com/section/02/feature/23/52/96/, >   Sims, R. 2002, Managing Organizational Behavior, Greenwood Publishing Group   Starbucks Corporation 2008, Hoovers, viewed 4 September 2008, <http://www.hoovers.com/starbucks/–ID__15745–/free-co-profile.xhtml>   Starbucks Coffee 2008, Starbucks Corporation, viewed 4 September 2008, <http://www.starbucks.com/> Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Organizational Behavior of Starbucks Corporation

Organizational Behavior Structure, Culture, Goals and Objectives of Starbucks Corporation Starbucks is considered as the ...