Spanish Information Technology company ITEC is hugely successful in its local market partially due to its innovative business model – selling the franchises of its ‘Portal de tu Ciudad’ portal that provides information about various aspects of different cities within Spain. Franchisers are offered to sell advertising spaces through franchising a website through the portal that focuses on a specific city for the amount of investment of less than 15,000 Euros. In return they are offered high returns through an expanding business, and training and professional help related to the various aspects of the business. Currently, strategic level management is exploring its opportunities of entering UK market as a part of a global expansion plan. This article is intended to ITEC strategic level management and advices the company regarding its expansion plans into UK. The article is based on ITEC company and UK information technology market analyses that have been conducted through employing a range of relevant strategic tools. Moreover, the article recommends a strategy ITEC can apply in relation to its UK market entry plans. It needs to be stressed that along with franchising opportunities the company also offers a range of other products and services such as websites for companies and individuals, optimisation services on Google and other major search engines, reports and researches for companies and industries and others. However, it is mainly the franchising opportunities on the basis of ‘Portal de tu Ciudad’ portal the company is relying on in terms of ensuring success in UK market. Accordingly, the report mainly focuses on franchising offer of the company n terms of detailed analysis. ITEC Company Analysis ITEC needs to be analysed in detail in order to advice the company regarding its expansion plans in a most appropriate manner. SWOT analysis is found to be the…
“E-commerce, short for electronic commerce, is a business transaction that occurs over an electronic network such as the Internet” (Shelly and Vermaat, 2008, p.91). E-commerce has many forms and variations and online food and grocery retailing is one of them. A brief history of e-commerce and online shopping has to be mentioned briefly in order to explore the research topic more effectively. Using relevant information from the works of Liu (2007), Botha et al (2008), and Shelly and Vermaat (2008) the evolution of internet and e-commerce until the point when it became possible to buy food and grocery products online can be summarised into the following stages: Time and Period Evolutional Stage 1969 The creation of ARPAnet and the evolution of TCP/IP Beginning of 1980s Popularity of personal computers with decreasing costs and increasing processing power; WANs and LANs becoming necessity requirements. Mid 1980s Size of the internet becoming significant 1990 Introduction of WWW with HTTP and HTML Beginning of 1990s The creation of general browser technology and search engines Mid 1990s Business integration problems are solved through the introduction of intranets and extranets 1995 Dramatic popularity of online shopping with the introduction of amazon.com End of 1990s Online payment made easier with the introduction of PayPal and Google is introduced Beginning of 2000s Security measures of paying through credit cards are increased. Mid 2000s Introduction of YouTube and Google Checkout End of 2000s The amount mobile shopping is increased dramatically with the introduction of IPhone Zapalla and Gray (2006) mention the concept of “E-Business Adaptation Ladder” proposed by Nachira (2002) that divides the process of evolution of e-business to its current stage into the following six stages: Stage 1 – introduction of e-mail as one of the most efficient business communication methods Stage 2 – with the introduction of…
By John Dudovskiy
Category: E-Commerce
Founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA generated the sales of 23.1 billion Euros in 2010 through its operations in more than 38 different countries with 27 distribution centres. The IKEA Group has 280 stores in 26 countries and the remaining of the stores are run by franchisees (Berger, 2011). The business concept of IKEA involves selling high volume of mostly furniture products in low prices. Moreover, “with an aim of lowering prices across its entire offering by an average of 2% to 3% each year, its signature feature is the flat packed product that customers assemble at home, thus reducing transportation costs” (Profile:IKEA, 2011, online) The vision of the company reflects this strategy in an effective manner. “The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for many people. We make this possible by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them” (Inter Ikea Systems B.V, 2011, online). As one of the leading retailers in a global scale IKEA is engaged in systematic environmental monitoring and analysis which serves to be an effective source of information for decision-making. Internal benchmarking is one of the main methods of environmental monitoring and analysis engaged in by IKEA. Benchmarking is “method of improving business performance by learning from other companies how to do things better in order to be the ‘best in the class’”(Janakiraman & Gopal, 2007, p.181). The Internal benchmarking practice engaged in by IKEA involves comparing different divisions and subsidiaries of the company and thus establishing the best practice and aspiring to it for the remaining divisions and subsidiaries of the company. Moreover, IKEA is engaged in extensive market research both in global and local levels that is conducted by marketers…
Some of the secondary data authors have formulated their recommendations for businesses in terms of engaging in CSR activities with an increased level of efficiency. Most noteworthy recommendations are proposed by Jonker and Witte (2006), Asongu (2007), Bacher (2007), Schreck (2009), Hawkins (2009), Schwartz (2011) and others. Reasoning about the importance of engaging in CSR activities for businesses Schreck (2009) states that “although beyond compliance firm behaviour might be a good indicator for socially responsible behaviour, it is critical to assume that CSR starts only where the law ends” (Schreck, 2009, p.11). Secondary data authors also highlight the importance of sources of CSR principles and policies for businesses. “Sources of corporate social responsibilities are, for example, business principles that were developed by supranational organisations or are derived from international conferences, such as the Caux Round Table Business Principles. These Codes of Conduct are not legally binding” (Bacher, 2007, p.9). Jonker and Witte (2006) formulate following recommendations for businesses in order to engage in CSR activities with an increased level of efficiency: a) Achieving increased level of cooperation between the various departments of the business in terms of achieving CSR related aims and objectives; b) Engagement in strategic use of social investment budget; c) Introducing CSR aspects of the business at the initial stages of the project and integrating it with long-term aims and objectives; d) Specifying the activities of stakeholder identification and engagement as a continuous process; e) Ensuring the existence of CSR skills in all employees within the organisation; f) Implementing an effective audit/review system in terms of improving the quality of CSR. Some of the authors of secondary data sources like Johnson et al (2008) and Mullerat (2010) stress the role of government in regulating CSR-related issues. A specific recommendation formulated in that aspect states that “governments have…
The concept of CSR has attracted a range of criticisms from some secondary data authors. It is important to note that “sceptics and opponents find their support in their assertion that beyond good intentions and turns of phase firms must account for reality. A reality characterised by hypercompetition and strong pressure to cut costs, compelling firms do search desperately for growth opportunities, leves no room for initiatives consistent with the CSR philosophy” (Perrini et al, 2006, p.6). Milton Friedman can be pinpointed as one of the most notable opponents of CSR concept. Schwartz (2010) mentions the Freedman’s (1962) viewpoint which states that “there is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception and fraud” (Schwartz, 2010, p.52). Generally, criticism associated with the concept of CSR can be divided into the following five groups: Firstly, CSR allows businesses to project positive image by doing very little. Such type of criticism has been mentioned in the works of Mullerat (2009) and Aras and Crowther (2010). According to this viewpoint businesses can engage in CSR-related activities in a minimum manner, but still they can create highly positive brand image for the company by publicising their CSR efforts. Secondly, the level of publicity associated with the concept of CSR creates an impression that the majority of businesses are seriously engaged in CSR-related activities, whereas the reality is quite different. This issue has been discussed by Freitag (2008), Mullerat (2009), Aras and Crowther (2010) and others. Specifically, the authors state that increased level of coverage of CSR issues by various types of media tends to form an impression…
Mohr et al (2010) divide distinctive profiles of CSR practices into three categories: business case, social values, and syncretic stewardship. The business case model of CSR “is driven primarily by the ability of CSR initiatives to create positive business results. Because serving shareholders is paramount, a strong tie to the economic outcomes drives CSR initiatives” (Mohr et al, 2010, p.440). Companies operating under business case model usually adopt reactive approach towards CSR issues and may engage in such activities due to the pressure form various groups, or in the search of competitive edge. Social values model of CSR, on the other hand, involves companies associating with a specific social cause and “it is integrated into the organisational fiber in every way: visible symbols of the cause can be found everywhere in the company” (Mohr et al, 2010, p.441). Businesses operating under syncretic stewardship CSR model aim to harmonise and balance the demands of various stakeholders of he business. In other words, these companies focus on profit maximisation objective of the business as the business case model, but at the same time, they also comprehend the importance of CSR and aim to address it an an effective manner. Four approaches to CSR have been specified by Tudler and Zwart (2006) as inactive, reactive, active and proactive (interactive). It is important to note that “these approaches emerged at different stages of societal development and they are neither mutually exclusive nor do they represent ‘best’ practice models” (Tulder and Zwart, 2006, p.143) The following table illustrates the viewpoints associated with each individual CSR approach: Inactive Reactive Active Pro-/interactive ‘Corporate self-responsibility’ ‘Corporate social responsiveness’ ‘Corporate social responsibility’ ‘Corporate societal responsibility’ Inside-in Outside-in Inside-out In/outside-in/out ‘Doing things right’ ‘Don’t do things wrong’ ‘Doing the right things’ ‘Doing the right things right’ ‘Doing well’ ‘Doing well…
In order to have a successful career it is better to be proactive, rather than reactive in terms of formulating career plans, assessing personal strengths and weaknesses, and devised detailed plans accordingly. It has been acknowledged that “personal development is an increasingly important aspect of life and work” (Boer, 2006, p.6) and therefore this paper represents personal development plan related to the career perspectives of the author. Personal Career Goals and Career Strategy Rothwell (2009) justly argues that personal career goals will be easier to achieve if they correspond to life goals and personal values of individuals. Accordingly, the author of this plan has formulated career goals that reflect personal life goals values. Specifically, the personal career goal for the author of this plan is closely related the e-commerce industry in general, and marketing aspect of e-commerce in particular. In other words, the author of this plan has formulated career goals that involve becoming a competent e-commerce marketing manager. The author has bold ambitions in terms of career plans, but at the same time, cherishes personal values of spending quality time with family and friends. The flexibility associated with the position of marketing management allows the author of this plan to pursue above specified values, and at the same time, to utilise the high level of creativity of the author. Career strategy can be defined as “any behaviour, activity, or experience designed to help a person meet career goals” (Greenhaus et al, 2009, p.131). The main points of the career strategy for the author of this paper consist of the following stages: First, preparing a personal profile. This stage involves identifying the interests of the author as well as assessing personal strengths and weaknesses. Second, formulating short and long-term professional aims and objectives. It has to be ensured that the aims and…
By John Dudovskiy
Category: Personal reflection & development
“Tourism is the world’s largest industry and makes a major contribution to the economies of most developed and developing countries” (Claire and Haven-Tang, 2005, p.1). At the same time, tourism organisations are facing a set of significant challenges they have to deal with in order to ensure their long-term growth. Specifically, quality management can be highlighted as one of the most important challenges for tourism organisations, and the importance of this challenge is increasing with ever-increasing customer expectations. Although the importance of quality in terms of long-term business growth in tourism organisations is widely understood by industry researchers and practitioners, yet no clear and universal recommendations exist regarding how the quality management aspect of the business can be improved in efficient ways. This article critically analyses the significance of quality management within the context of managing a tourism organisation. The article starts with discussions about the importance of managing quality in a tourist organisation, followed by a brief analysis of challenges in ensuring a high quality. Moreover, specific strategies are also described in this paper that tourism organisations can use in order to improve quality management. The Importance of Managing Quality in a Tourism Organisation Managing quality is crucially important for tourism organisations along with other types of businesses. The significance of the quality management issue for tourism organisations has dramatically increased in recent years due to the highly intensified level of competition in the industry caused by the globalisation, low barriers for entering into the industry and a range of other factors. Moreover, “service quality is an intangible, but crucial area of interest to travel service providers” (Morais and Chick, 2005, online) because it is one of the most efficient bases for creating competitive edge in the marketplace. A great level of dedication to such an approach has enabled…
It has been stated that “reward management deals with the strategies, policies and processes required to ensure that the contribution of people to the organisation is recognised by both financial and non-financial means” (Armstrong, 2007, p.3). To put it simply rewards are used in order to thank employees, for their increased performances and more importantly, to motivate and inspire them to achieve greater results in the future, therefore, effective reward management systems are crucial to the successful implementation of SHRM. The aims of reward management are listed by Wood (2009) as rewarding employees according to the value created by them, relating the reward practices to the individual employee needs and values, communicating specific messages to the stakeholders in general and to employees in particular through rewards, attracting highly qualified and competent workforce, and motivating employees for high-level performances. Important components of an effective reward management system are specified by Armstrong (2007) as reward philosophy, distributive justice, procedural justice, fairness, equity, consistency, transparency, strategic alignment, conceptual and culture fit, as well as fitting for purpose. Each of these issues needs to be addressed by management in an effective manner in order to maximise the output of reward initiatives. Rewards are usually divided into two groups: tangible and intangible. The most popular forms of tangible rewards include monetary rewards, in the forms of pay-raises and bonuses and other tangible items such as holidays, gifts, free samples of products etc. Intangible rewards, on the other hand, include verbal and written appraisals, appreciation letters, articles in the company and local press etc. The choice between tangible and intangible rewards depends on a range of factors that include cultural background of employees, their personal values, characteristics and traits etc. However, Wood (2009) informs that according to the latest studies intangible rewards in general and the…
By John Dudovskiy
Category: HRM
Effective employment relationships within companies have been recognised to be one of the crucial conditions of succeeding in the marketplace in all industries, including events industy. Therefore, all factors affecting the level of employment relationships within organisations in direct and indirect ways need to be analysed in great detail. Moreover, companies need to promote the factors positively affecting the level of employee relationships at the same time when eliminating the factors with negative effects. Personality can be defined as “the overall profile or combination of stable psychological attributes that capture the uniqueness nature of a person” (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2007, p.42). And “the personality of a person has a bearing on his performance and impression” (Bhatti, 2009, p.3). The nature of personality of an individual has specific impacts on people who interact with that person and the impact is even greater in manager-subordinate type of interactions. According to Adair (2007), the personality of people working in management positions plays significant role in employee motivation, and consequently in achieving organisational aims and objectives. The author rightly argues that managers with such personality attributes as leadership, compassion and effective communication skills are able to motivate the workforce with minimum use of tangible resources. Likewise, managers whose personalities lack important attributes such as leadership and interpersonal skills are most likely to face challenges in terms of motivating their employees and such a scenario would adversely affect the overall work environment and productivity of the organisation. The issue of the personality of managers has even greater implications in the context of event organisations in UK. This is because the successful organisation of special events depends on the level of motivation and enthusiasm of events participants in general, and event staff and volunteers in particular (Matthews, 2008). Moreover, such elements as creativity and originality play…