Company Strategy

Posted: September 9th, 2013

Company Strategy

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Company Strategy

Organization structure

COLES has what could be described as a bureaucratic organizational structure in that there is the presence of the various departments such as sales and marketing, human resource, finance department among others. All these departments are further divided in terms of hierarchal positions with clearly defined roles for the employees in the respective departments. This allows for clearly set out functions for all the employees preventing redundancy and duplication of tasks.

Wesfarmers also has shares in COLES group as the entity is a registered corporation with interests in other entities such as supermarkets and agriculture. The influence of Wesfarmers in COLES is evidenced by the ability to engage in decision-making processes such as the partnership with Warrnambool Cheese and Butter to give a new line of products for the supermarket to sell in its numerous retail outlets in Australia as well as abroad. Additionally Wesfarmers plays a significant role in enabling COLES to achieve its strategic goals of gaining market dominance through decision-making processes (Wesfarmers, 2012).

Additionally this is important for COLES because it enables the specialization of labor. Specialization of labor allows for professionalism in the organization in that all employees are versed in their functions in the organization. The organization has typical hierarchal structure, which is definable as top-down management systems. This enables the presence of responsibility in the organization in that the lower levels of the organization are able to report to those above in the hierarchal chain of management.

Furthermore, the organizational structure of the organization is divided over the various regions rising to the national team management of the organization. Stakeholders of the organization include the community, the shareholders, business partners, suppliers, financial institutions, marketers and other entities, which benefit from direct involvement with the organization.

Organizational objectives

•COLES aims at ensuring that it attains competitive advantage over other firms in the retail market. This could be attained through various strategies such as establishment of relationships with the consumer as well as suppliers to ensure the availability of adequate quality products in the retails stores owned by COLES.

• Additionally, COLES also aims at ensuring the attainment of a global status through expansion into foreign markets. This would provide diversification in terms of risks and revenues accrued to the market.

• COLES also seeks to establish a good customer relationship in the market. This would enable the organization to increase the sales and subsequent revenues for the organization. Additionally this would provide the origination with a sense of achieved customer loyalty to the brand of the organization.

• On the other hand, the organization aims at establishing a good relationship with the suppliers and other stakeholders. This would enable the organization to attain operational deficiency and subsequent customer satisfaction from the acquisition of high quality products for the consumers.

• Operational efficiency is also an objective of the organization. This is essential for the organization as it would enable COLES to achieve its strategic goals such as reduction of operational costs, increase in competitiveness and attainment of organizational growth.

•Additionally, the organization could engage in effective business processes with partners and other organizations. This would enable the entity to gain ideas about establishing efficient procedure s in the organization. It would also enable the entity to engage in efficient processes because of the need by the partners and other stakeholders to engage in business with an organization with the ability to operate efficiently and effectively. The organization could also outsource information techno logy activities in the organization. This would ensure the reduction in costs such as labor, maintenance of equipment as well as other operational costs related to the information technology department (Rionda, 2002).

Improvement Corporate Culture

COLES aims at accrual of growth as well as the achievement of competitive advantage over its competitors in the retail market. Additionally the entity aims at ensuring the achievement of consumer satisfaction by providing consumers with an exceptional customer experience in terms of the services and products purchased by the customers. The organization goals and objectives are embedded in ensuring that the organization increases the revenues accruable each financial period (Eccles, Ioannou, & Serafeim, 2012).

To gain in the market, COLES will increase its involvement in community projects. Such would improve the organizational image and specifically the corporate image by gaining favor from the public. Organizations are evolving in terms of the goals, objectives and values. Hence, there is a dire need for the corporate level of an organization to evaluate and understand the existent of the core values of the organization (Goodpaster, 2007). Such ensures that the conduct of organizational activities is done with respect to the values such as ensuring ethical conduct (McWilliams, & Siegel, 2001).

Continuous evaluation of the corporate culture would enable the entity evaluate the culture in the corporate levels of the organization. This is essential as it enables comparison of the organizational needs and the values of the organization. The present culture of COLES could be hindrance to the achievement of both the short-term and long-term goals and objectives of the organization. Hence, realignments of the values and change in culture would ensure achievement of the goals and objectives (Smit, 1996).

Customer Relationship

Establishment of a relationship with the consumers is one of the basic aspects, which enables an organization to ensure that the consumers are able to become loyal to the organization (Grantham, & Carr, 2002). Costumer relationships are based on the presence of trust established by COLES. Trust based selling is achieved by ensuring that the customer is provided with honest information about the product. COLES influences the consumers to make purchases from the retail stores of the organization. Additionally, this is also achievable from the establishing an environment for an exceptional customer experience.

This could be enhanced by providing the costumers with an appropriate channel of communication with COLES. A channel for communication should enable the clients to express their views about products, communicate about their post purchase dissonance. This provides the organization with the ability to ensure that all customer needs are addressed. Customer frustrations if not addressed adequately could tarnish the image of an organization as well as the loss of loyal customers (Blackshaw, 2008).

Trust from the consumer ensures that COLES attains the much-needed loyalty. Loyalty in consumerism is an act of repeated purchases of goods and services from a seller because of the existent relationship between the buyer and the seller (Newell, 2000). This could be established through new products and services for the array of consumer segments. It would enable the organization increase competitiveness by gaining a competitive advantage over other entities in the market.

An effective consumer based strategy focuses on three basic facets. These facets are identified as an understanding of the consumers of the products and services of the organization. Understanding the consumer needs and wants is essential for the organization as it enables the entity to focus on providing products, which are sufficient for satisfying the consumer needs and wants. A good consumer relationship is based on understanding the benefits of both parties accrued from the relationship. The good consumer relationship enables the organization to develop means of ensuring that the relationship provides the consumers with the services and products essential for satisfaction of their needs and wants. This also enables the organization to ensure that the relationship helps the organization attain its goals and objectives.

Strong operational efficiency:

Efficiency in the retail industry is one of the main strengths of an organization. This is because customers are in need for services, which are carried out in a timely manner. Hence, the organization aim at increasing the efficiency of its operations and cuts the time spent giving services to the customers. Efficiency by COLES could be increased with additional technological products in the activities of the organization. Such could ensure that the organization executes activities effectively and efficiently in that this reduces the time spent, costs as well as timely and quantitative results in the various process of the organization. Additionally organization efficiency could also be achieved from the reduction in of the organizational bureaucracies. This ensures that the time for execution of the various organizational activities is done in a timely and short manner without the need for irrelevant consultations.

New Establishments

Establishment of new outlets by COLES would enable the organization to ensure that it achieves its short term a well as its long-term objectives in the retail outlet market. Additionally this would enable the entity attain a competitive advantage over its competitor in the market (Monti, & Yip, 2000). Competitive advantage is assumed by the establishment of new services or products, which are attractive and considerate for the consumers. New outlets would provide consumers with the convenience for making purchases. COLES could assume a global approach by the establishment of new stores in potential international markets. This would provide the organization with the much-needed diversification in the markets.

Global competitiveness has enabled organizations to realize the competitive advantage associated with developing and management of supply chain relations with suppliers. Diversification is essential for COLES. This is because it enables diversification of revenues as well as the risk associated with the market segment. Additionally this enables the entity to engage in markets, which are potentially lucrative thus increasing the revenues accrued by the organization is a new market. Global involvement is usually a stepping-stone for entities seeking to grow exponentially as they subsequently become global brands, which the consumers can easily identify. However, global involvement should be assumed after adequate research and evaluation of the identified market conditions, viability and culture of the consumers in the individual identified markets (Vermeulen, 2001).

Diversification could assume a continental approach in that, the organization evaluates the largest markets in a continent with potency for establishing a successful business. This would enable the entity to set up entities in the most promising markets around the world hence attaining global status. International expansion is one of the best approaches, which the organization could use to ensure that it attains global growth as well as increasing its competitive advantage. This requires adequate knowledge of the identified markets to enable the organization position itself in the market as a provider of high quality products and services.

Supplier Relationship

Long-term relationships with the consumer are established through trust based selling. This is aimed at ensuring that the customer needs and wants are understood. Hence, with the precise understanding of the consumer needs and wants, the entity is able to develop products and services, which are adequate for satisfaction of the consumer needs and wants. Essentially high quality products and services are the main strengths of COLES. This is the driver of sales in the organization as the consumers are aware of the quality of the products (Chenoth, 2012).

Good and high quality products are the drivers of growth of COLES. This provides COLES with the much-needed competitive advantage, which is essentially attained through quality products. A product definition in terms of its quality, quantity, and price are determinants of the organizational capacity to survive in the market and attain competitive advantage over other organizations dealing in identical products and services in the market. Purchasing in the contemporary organization is a vital function in enabling an organization in its efforts of competitive positioning.

Community Involvement

Community involvement is essential in the contemporary business world. This is because it ensures that COLES is able to earn the trust of the community who are essentially the consumers of the goods and services of the organization. Additionally the community involvements would enable the entity enhance its reputation in the market. Community involvement could include the establishment of community-based programs such as cleaning programs, educational programs, and health programs. The image of an organization is enhanced by the presence of a healthy relationship with the organization.

Increase in the COLES’ corporate social responsibility assumes three perspectives: involvement in the work place, the marketplace and the community. As the organization aims at increasing its competitiveness by new international establishments it is essential for the organization to ensure that it identifies the relevant fields in the new markets, which would ensure that it attains the trust of the respective market communities.

Contemporary organizations such as Coles should ensure that they are able to increase ability to control profits and risks associated with a specific market and ensuring the protection of image of the organization’s brand and reputation. Additionally the relationship of the organization with the respective communities, its employees, other organizations in the market place greatly determines the ability of the organization to succeed in the respective markets. New markets identified are delicate in terms of the diversity posed by culture of the population as well as organizational cultures in the market place.

Reference

Blackshaw, P. (2008). Satisfied customers tell three friends, angry customers tell 3,000: Running a business in today’s consumer driven world. New York: Doubleday.

Chenoth, M.E., Moore, Y.N., Cox, G.A., Mele, D.J., Sollinger, M.J. (2012). “Best Practices in Supplier Relationship Management and Their Early Implementation in the Air Force Materiel Command” Project Airforce, pp. 1-95.

Eccles, R. G., Ioannou, I.,  & Serafeim, G. (2012). “The Impact of a Corporate Culture of Sustainability on Corporate Behavior and Performance” Harvard Business School Working Paper, 12-035. pp. 1-57.

Grantham, C. E., & Carr, J. A. (2002). Consumer evolution: Nine effective strategies for driving business growth. Stamford, Conn.: Gartner Press.

Goodpaster, K. E. (2007). Conscience and corporate culture. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub

McWilliams, A. & Siegel, D. 2001. “Corporate social responsibility: A theory of the firm perspective” Academy of Management Review, 26(1): 117-127.

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Monti, J.A, & Yip, G.S. (2000). “Taking the High Road When Going International” Business Horizons, pp. 65-72.

Newell, F. (2000). Loyalty.com: Customer relationship management in the new era of Internet marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Smit, J. (1996). “Continuous Improvement in the Context of Organizational Culture” MIT Sloan School of Management, pp.1-116.

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Wesfarmers. (2012). “Retail Operations: COLES” Wesfarmers Annual Report 2012. Pp.1-88.