Benefits Of Supplying Quality Customer Service - 1085 Words

Introduction The benefits of supplying quality customer service are well documented for creating value for the business. Customer service leads to profitability and brand reputation (Armistead and Clark, 1992); Quality customer service leads to higher levels of competitiveness (Chan et al. 2005); Quality customer service reduces costs and boosts profitability (Crosby, 1980); and quality customer service increases customer retention and improves brand image (Stamatis, 1996). Therefore, it is obvious that a quality understanding of customer service can add substantial value to a business. Venkatraman and Ramanujam (1986) briefly incorporate this notion with business size by adding that size and growth are typically used as a precedent for evaluating business success. Conversely, Lash (1989) challenges this by explaining that small and large, profitable and unprofitable companies offer good and bad customer service. These conflicting concepts form the basis of the investigation into, at what point does customer service strategies diverge depending on the size or growth of the business? In approaching this question, forms of business size and growth and various aspects of customer service need to be defined. It is common knowledge that there are many ways to measure the size or growth rate of a business depending on the complimenting independent variables. However, the measurement of customer service comes with more complexity. This is due to service qualit y being difficult toShow MoreRelatedQuality Management Systems Iso Standards1396 Words   |  6 PagesAssignment 2 Quality management systems ISO standards is designed to help organizations ensure that they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders while meeting statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product. ISO 9000 series are based on eight quality management principles. The eight quality management principles are defined in ISO 9000:2005, Quality management systems – Fundamentals and vocabulary, and in ISO 9004:2009, Managing for the sustained success of an organization –Read MoreIkea-Value Chain1221 Words   |  5 Pagesdown furniture that offers environmentally friendly, state of the art designed furniture that is both affordable and attractive to its customers via their online, catalogue and worldwide distribution channels, with a logistics network that are low cost footprints with the enforces on cost efficiencies couple with technology, product design, excellence and customer satisfaction. IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in a small village in Sweden. Its Scandinavian–style home furniture offer attractive designsRead MoreEssay EMSE 6035 Case Study 1678 Words   |  3 Pagessteakhouse, might differ from one that is offered to a fast-food customer, like Papa John’s International. In order to answer the first question we must understand the following â€Å"value equation†. The value proposition of Middleby Corporation will have a significant difference in term of products offered to fast-food companies oppose to ones offered to casual dining chains where Middleby has made a strong name and market for itself supplying clients like Papa John’s International. That is related toRead MoreDHL: Service Quality1646 Words   |  7 Pagesocean freight, road and rail modes of transport. This paper is going to look at service quality and purchasing in relation to how it affects an organization. It is therefore going to help us relate these to DHL as a company, and help us look at ways through which they can be used as a guide to related companies. Question 1: How does service quality relate to the purchasing/supply chain function? Service quality is an important competitiveness determinant, and should be considered by an organizationRead MoreComputer Programmer Pierre Omidyar Established Ebay Inc.1493 Words   |  6 Pagesnumber of buyers and sellers that his site attracted and he soon had to set up a separate site devoted to auctions. By charging sellers for posting their auction items, and taking a small percentage of each sale, the company made money simply by supplying a place for buyers and sellers to meet. Business grew through word of mouth. A Feedback Forum was added to allow buyers and sellers a way to rate each other for honesty and reliability. Branching out from collectibles, the site quickly expanded intoRead MoreThe Appraisal Of Whole Foods993 Words   |  4 PagesFinancial: WFM has amassed nearly $900 million in cash cash equilivents. With liquid assets of such magnitude, WFM is in a unique position to enhance it’s growth. †¢ Physical - Food Processing/Distribution: WFM has built their brand on providing quality foods; driving this quailty is made possible by a variety of different physical product producing and distributing locations. Those include: four seafood processing and distribution facilities, a specialty coffee and tea procurement and roasting opreationRead MoreExamine the Strategic Importance of Supply Chain Management to a Manufacturing Firm. What Are the Major Types of Supply Chain Strategies Open to Such a Firm?1030 Words   |  5 Pagesthe ultimate provision of product and service packages required by end customers. It spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption (supply chain). Principles of SCM are: - Internal integration of purchasing and supply, manufacturing and physical distribution management - External integration with suppliers (and their suppliers) and customers (and their customers) 3.0 Its Strategic Importance WeRead MoreStandardization For A Format War977 Words   |  4 Pagesis a kind of battle or war among the companies to set and control the standard in a market. In other words a company set standard for its products, similerly another company of same industry also set standard, now they compete in the market for customers and long term better control the market. Example- Microsoft and Intel had won format war against Apple computer s proprietary system and later against IBM OS/2 opereting system. How standardization can lead to a format war: Standardization can beRead MoreThe Most Important Starbucks Marketing Strategy951 Words   |  4 Pagesculture and experience strategy, supplying unique experience and sharing coffee culture. Starbucks thought 90% of feelings to coffee came from smell while 10% are from taste. So, Starbucks focused on aroma of its coffee shop, making sure that costumers would be attracted by coffee aroma once they came in any shops. That’s why no smoking there and no perfume to Starbucks employees. In this case, desire for coffee would be conditioned response from aroma and be core of customers’ loyalty. All Starbucks coffeeRead MoreEssay about Dulux1720 Words   |  7 Pagesrole in marketing audit i.e. macro and micro environment (Wilson, R.M.S amp; Gilligan, C. (2005a) Micro and Macro Environment – The marketing micro environment is composed of forces stopping point to the company that affect its ability to serve customers including companionship strength and weaknesses as well as company suppliers and competitors. Macro environment comprises of larger aspects such as political, economic, social and technological which affects the micro environment.

Managing Business Strategy And Growth - 2068 Words

MANAGING BUSINESS STRATEGY AND GROWTH 1.0. Introduction Small business enterprises form special economic component of a given country. As such the strategies should be put in place to ensure their proliferation and continued generation of profit to the owners and revenues to the government. Small businesses are also source of employment for most individuals who are unlucky to be employed by the multibillion corporate and other middle level companies and organizations. Management strategies are plans that are put in place by either government or the business owners to ensure that their businesses are being driven towards growth and enhanced profitability. The strategies put in place are usually well researched and organized in steps and stages that can easily be followed to ensure the development of the small firm and their continued existence. This paper will be looking at a small business firm, analyze its intellectual capital resources and come up with recommendations and proposals that will help to boost the total growth and profitabil ity of that particular business firm. The paper will look at into the strategic intents of the business firm, document and designate the intellectual capital resources required by the business venture in order to grow. The competitive advantage position of the venture will be analyzed according to the resource based theory and give recommendations that will improve the chances of the successfulness of the identified small business firmShow MoreRelatedCompany and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships1465 Words   |  6 Pagesstudying this chapter, you should be able to: 1. Explain companywide strategic planning in its four steps 2. Discuss how to design business portfolios and develop growth strategies 3. Explain marketing’s role in strategic planning and how marketing works with its partners to create and deliver customer value 4. Describe the elements of a customer-driven marketing strategy and mix, and the forces that influence it 5. List the marketing management functions, including the elements of a marketing planRead MoreWhat Are the Pros and Cons of Hsbc’s â€Å"Managing for Growth† Strategy?762 Words   |  4 PagesWhat are the pros and cons of HSBC’s â€Å"Managing for Growth† strategy? The HSBC managing for growth strategy is a plan that provides HSBC with a blueprint for growth and development. The key point of the strategy was to build on HSBC’s strengths and address it’s weaknesses. HSBC plans to deliver its strategy for growth by focusing on enhancing HSBC’s revenue generation culture, further developing its brand managing costs strategically , maintaining a prudent credit/market risk stance and investingRead MoreCritical Review On The Article Of Balance Scorecard Model1411 Words   |  6 Pagesarticle of Balance Scorecard model. Introduction The Balance Scorecard(BSC) model assist managers and board of directors to manage overall business by focusing into financial factors ( Profitability, cost, revenue, budgeted cost and real cost etc) as well as non-financial factors such as customer satisfaction, internal business process, innovation, learning and growth of organization. Kaplan and Norton decided to introduce concept of BSC in 1992, when they studied belief of famous British scientist, LordRead MoreMarketing Analysis : Sift Analytics Group Essay1250 Words   |  5 Pagescountry since 1999. The growth and size of the company is evident in its current numbers of customers given that it has more than 500 corporate customers in Singapore alone. Throughout the years, Sift Analytics Group Pte Ltd has remained successful and profitable because of the numerous advantages associated with its products and solutions. The company’s growth is also attributed to its ability to attract, retain, and grow its customer base. As a business to business supplier organization, SiftRead MoreManagerial Questions On Managerial Economics1736 Words   |  7 Pagesinvolved in market exchange. These include the costs of discovering market prices and the cost of writing and enforcing contracts† (Khemani R, 1993). Firms that have low TC have a better chance at preventing diseconomies of scale and increase the firm’s growth. Over the decade many opportunities have presented itself and helped drop the transaction cost drastically; firstly the development in technology has helped decrease the cost of communication over the years (Huang, Kinshuk and Chen, n.d.). WithRead MoreCase Study on LOreal Essay1636 Words   |  7 Pageson L’Oreal’s expansion in China. For example, in order to speed up the growth in the Chinese market, L’Oreal signed agreements to acquire two famous Chinese cosmetic brands, Yue-Sai and Mininurse. Moreover, according to the contracts, both the founders of Mininurse and Yue-Sai were required to never enter the cosmetics market. Were these problems that affect L’Oreal’s management on the two Chinese brands and its future growth in China? They are to be identified and analyzed in detail. ConclusionRead MoreSummary Kotler Keller1275 Words   |  6 Pagesand a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managin g customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders. Marketing management is the art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping, and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value. Marketers are skilled at managing demand: they seek to influence its level, timing, and composition for goods, services, eventsRead MoreCompetitive Advantage Through People, Polycentric Staffing Essay1362 Words   |  6 PagesFor competitive advantage through people, polycentric staffing was a short-term strategy to limit turnover. However, as Rudd and Lawson (2007) suggested for the long term, practices and processes that maximize the benefits in each country become necessary and focus shifts to cultural information flow to serve multiple needs. For this, leadership, culture, competencies and organization in Lenovo ought to be for significant transformations. Regular team building exercises promote a culture where differentRead MoreManager And Ceo Of Billcutterz.com1376 Words   |  6 Pagesa skilled negotiator with extensive experience in sales, marketing, and strategic planning. Utilizing his experience and success as a negotiator he launched his current business, Billcutterz.c om with the goal of reducing the amounts customers pay for a variety of services. Part of Gross’s low-cost, focused differentiation strategy was identifying and developing a service for a market niche (Gamble, Peteraf, Thompson, 2017). Prior to Billcutterz.com, consumers were mostly on their own to try to negotiateRead MoreUnilever : A Global Supplier Of Fast Moving Consumer Goods1385 Words   |  6 PagesTRESemmà © See appendix 1. Unilever’s Purpose is â€Å"to make sustainable living commonplace† and its vision is to double the business size, reduce environmental footprint and increase positive social impact. Unilever’s corporate purpose states that to succeed requires the highest standards of corporate behaviour towards our employees, consumers†¦societies and world. Unilever’s strategy is to fulfil consumers’ needs for high-quality, innovative brands that offer value for money. (Unilever company website

My Favourite Brands Free Essays

My favourite brands are: NOKIA: I am using NOKIA cell phone since last 6 years, still I don’t have any complaint about it, its battery life, reliability, and easy to use features are common in all the phones and its customer related services like once they exchange battery (CLV4) due to some technical reason, on that day itself. SONY: People say that XYZ Company provides better services after sales, but I belief in SONY because if you have SONY gadgets you don’t need services (at all in many case) or very frequently. I have SONY Walkman, Camera, Laptop but I never visited Sony service centre for the same, also â€Å"Made in Japan† tag play an important role to building a brand. We will write a custom essay sample on My Favourite Brands or any similar topic only for you Order Now DABUR: In many FMCG product categories and Ayurvedic products like Chayawanprash, toothpaste, Honey, Hair oil, I prefer DABUR products because it has quality products with more than 100 years of experiences also since my childhood i am using all these products so I have develop a strong taste for these products. REYNOLDS: I have been using REYNOLDS pen since my School days, I tried many more pen in between but in examination or any other Test which is important to me I prefer only Reynolds pen (white body blue cover Reynolds 045) that one I am still using. It provides you best quality at cheaper price with belief of Reynolds. HERO HONDA: I learnt bike with Hero Honda CD 100 SS which we have in our house 10 years ago. In those days they promoted Hero Honda as â€Å"Desh ki Dhadkan† that influenced me at that time. Hero Honda also have many products depends on the needs of the customers, Splendra is the most sold model of Hero Honda which I have now-a-days that gives you strength that it is most trusted bike in the market. How to cite My Favourite Brands, Essay examples

Ford Corporation free essay sample

The manufacturing capabilities kept on improving and in 1917 he built the Rouge plant that put the whole operation, from the raw material, to the final product, under the same roof. In 1915 Henry Ford’s son, Edsel Ford joined his father in the company. Edsel brought to the company the desire of making a product not only functional, but stylish and beautiful. Ford became entirely family owned in 1919 when Henry, his wife Clara, and Edsel bought the outstanding shares for $105,820,894 (Chapman, pp. 128) . The company would hold to this status until 1956 when the company would allow outsiders to buy shares. For many years the image of the company was the same as its leadership. Henry Ford passed the presidency to Edsel Ford in 1919. Henry Ford reassumed the leadership after the death of Edsel in 1943. After Henry Ford resigned, Henry Ford II assumed the presidency. The company inherited by Henry Ford II was not the same. Ford had fallen behind General Motor (GM) and Chrysler. Henry Ford II knew he had to regain terrain, so he contracted the Whiz Kids (a group of former US Army Air Force officers), and created a â€Å"sophisticated management system including accounting and financial controls† (Chapman, pp. 28). With the finance side in check, Ford gained increased its position, and became the number 2 car company in 1950. Ford products were not fuel efficient, and when the gas prices rose in the 70s because of the OPEC embargo, Ford lost many consumers. The company responded by closing plants and cutting jobs. After the storm, the sun came out in the late 80s with the launch of Ford Taurus and Mercury Ford was on the top of the game once again. The desire to diversify made Ford buy other brands and include it in its family such as: Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover and Volvo. Bill Ford assumed the presidency of the company in 2001. It was the first time in 20 years that the head of the company was a member of the Ford family. Bill Ford drove the company through one of the worst times in history for the company: right after the extensive (and expensive) Firestone tires recall, and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Bill Ford went to ups and downs during his presidency. He saw sales improving slowly from 2001 to 2006, but the increasing competition from foreign brands such as Toyota, Nissan and Honda made him realize that he needed help taking the company to the next level. Alan Mulally became the new CEO in 2006. He was a new face in the auto industry, coming from Boeing Corporation instead from inside Ford or from another auto company. Mulally â€Å"demonstrated leadership skills Henry Ford had established many years ago. † Mulally brought to the company new energy, and a brave new plan. His most risky decision proved to pay off in the end. He decided to raise money by mortgaging almost all of Ford’s assets including the brand. His audacity put Ford as the most trustworthy American company. The money raised by Mulally helped keep Ford out of the government bailout of 2009. Ford Motor Company: The Problem(s) Ford has been a pioneer in the auto industry but it still faces a lot of problems to make it the number one in the industry. The increasing competition from other car companies to creatively and efficiently attract and retain customers made it difficult to gain the number one position. The economic crisis also made it hard to sell new vehicles. The quality of Ford vehicles have also gone down compared to what it was before. The slow reaction to change in consumer taste made Ford lag behind its main competitors. It was also late in expanding in international market and opportunities were lost to other brands. Ford Motor Company: SWOT Analysis Strengths One of Ford’s biggest strengths is its leadership. Since Henry Ford founded the company, the leadership has been proven to help the company throughout difficult times. Every leader brought to the company a new idea. Henry Ford wanted the company to produce an affordable product. His successor, Edsel showed that innovation is always necessary in this industry. Edsel wanted stylish and beautiful vehicles to carry the Ford brand. Henry Ford II with he help of the Whiz Kids developed a â€Å"sophisticated management system† what helped the company after World War II. He also â€Å"revitalized Ford with modern engineering, manufacturing, assembly, and distribution facilities in the US and 22 foreign countries† (Chapman, pp. 128). The strong and visionary leadership style of Henry Ford was shared by many other leaders of Ford. T he new generation, Bill Ford and Alan Mulally also presented the traits of a Ford leader. Bill by navigating Ford throughout harsh times, and for seeing that the company needed a change, a fresh start. He then passed the leadership of the company to Alan Mulally who proved to be exactly what the company needed. Mulally discovered that Ford lacked â€Å"global synergy,† he was surprised by the way that Ford was operating its brands. He saw that the company did not have central control, it took him a while to find out what was really happening inside the company. He also made really tough financial decisions, and reorganized the amount of brands and models offered by Ford. â€Å"With his leadership and conviction, Ford Motor Company stood apart from its competitors by standing on its two feet† (Chapman, pp. 33). Ford’s reputation is also an incredible strength for the company. Ford is seen as a family company. Henry Ford wants the employees to be able to buy cars, increased their wages, and was interested in sharing a piece of his family with others. Weaknesses Ford has proven to be slow to respond to changes in the environment and consumer tastes. They felt that they â€Å"got it,† and felt comfortable with it. Since the beginning of Ford, with a delay to offer cars in other colors than black, they experience a tardiness to respond to changes. One example was the excessive attention to SUVs and other gas inefficient cars when the gas prices spiked. When consumers were looking for alternatives to the gas drinking vehicles, Ford was fully producing SUV’s. Although SUV’s are Ford bestselling product, the fact that they were slow to make them more efficient or give costumers other styles to choose from, made Ford to lose market share to other automakers. Ford also lost terrain when they did not address earlier the ecofriendly trend. Toyota had the Prius which did not have much of a competition until recently. Currently, Ford has â€Å"12 vehicles with best in class fuel economy and 4 models with at least 40 mpg† (Chapman, pp. 137), and is developing plug-in models that use a combination of electricity and gasoline that will compete against the Chevrolet Volt. Opportunities Ford has the opportunity to expand its presence and capture market share in India and China. It aims to increase its revenues from international sales from 20 percent to 50 percent. The expanding market of the two countries allows Ford to focus on small, light and fuel efficient cars that are needed in the market. Ford has also been slow to respond to demands for small hybrid or fuel efficient cars in the United States. There is also an opportunity to increase standardization of the platforms used in world-wide production of vehicles. If this happens the cost of production would significantly lower and it would be easier to introduce new cars into new markets without building new plants. Ford can also further trim down the number of models out in the market and focus on cars they are widely known for such as light trucks and expand its model for smaller and fuel efficient cars. To target the higher end market, it should continue to build its Lincoln brand as a better alternative in the US and once established, export that brand to new markets overseas. Production from union controlled plants could also be transferred to non-union plants that can give Ford plants a competitive edge or be at par with other auto companies in compensation for workers. Ford can also consolidate more dealership to become more competitive and give them incentives to attract more customers thru financing and offering excellent customer service. Threats The auto industry is very competitive and technology driven industry. Ford has to constantly monitor its competitors to know how it will make its own decision. Companies will outbid one another in attracting new customers by giving them a lot of rebates, incentives and attractive financing. The technology for clean, fuel-efficient cars and alternate sources of fuel is also changing and without proper funding for research Ford could be left behind and lose in this expanding market. Any increase in price of raw materials could also increase production cost for Ford and make their vehicles more expensive. Demands of union workers also affect the competitiveness of Ford. They are currently paying higher compensation and benefits compared to the rest of auto industry. Changing consumer tastes also makes it difficult for Ford to quickly address and create cars that the market needs. Any decline in the US economy would also greatly affect the revenues of Ford. Most of the revenues of Ford comes from the US market and if the US economy goes into another recession it would decrease consumer spending and make it difficult to survive without government help. Ford Motor Company: Five Forces Threats of Substitute Products – High in Urban Areas, Low in Suburban Areas * With the increase of gas prices and traffic congestion consumers are now looking for alternate ways to commute between work and home. Consumers are increasingly being aware of their â€Å"carbon footprint† and are looking for clean and energy efficient alternatives to commute. In cities, the availability of public tr ansportation such as buses, subways and light rail systems gives commuters flexibility. Car-sharing options such as Zipcar are now also available in cities and have become popular. Rivalry Among Competing Firms – High * Competition in the auto industry is very high. Different companies compete aggressively in increasing their market share by giving incentives to customers. It is also important for companies to satisfy the needs and tastes of consumers. Companies also try to run an efficient supply chain to limit the cost of producing and increasing profit margins. * Threats of New Entrants – Low * The threat of new entrants in the local auto industry is low. The auto industry is very capital and labor intensive and it takes time for companies to establish their operations. The current companies have established their presence and market share but competition from potential, new and growing car companies in big markets such as China and India is inevitable. * Bargaining Power of Suppliers – Low * The auto industry sources its raw materials from global suppliers. The suppliers market is also a competitive industry. Bulk of their sales come from the auto industry and companies have established relationships to give them access to supplies and new technologies. The relationship of auto ompanies and suppliers are intertwined given that as auto companies increase production, supplier companies increase revenues. * Bargaining Power of Buyers – High * Consumers now have more choices that gives them a higher bargaining power. The economy is also improving and giving them more buying power. Unlike before where manufacturers dictate what the dealers will push to the consumers, consumers now make the demand for manufacturers to make fuel-efficient an d environment friendly cars. Consumers are also well informed and by being well informed they can ask for more incentives to dealers and car manufacturers. Ford Motor Company: Recommendations Under the leadership of Mulally Ford has significantly made changes to improve the position of the company. We recommend that Ford increase funding on research for fuel efficient cars, alternate sources of energy for smaller cars that the market demands and will create sustainability in its vehicles. Ford should also maintain or increase the quality of its vehicles by standardizing its platforms and improving its technology to detect any safety issues with its vehicles to avoid costly recalls that not only is expensive but tarnishes the image of the company. The economic crisis has made it difficult for other car companies not to be bailed out but Ford was able to maintain its independence by using its assets and enforcing better control in its finances. Ford can continue to be competitive by maintaining or lowering its operating costs. Ford has been known in its proficiency in having a tight supply chain were it can control the costs of production. Ford should be quick to adapt in changing consumer tastes. It should not be content with making products that they are known for and lose market share in new vehicles that are small, clean and fuel efficient. It should also make its current models cleaner and more fuel efficient to maintain attractiveness to consumers. Ford has great potential in new markets such as China and India. The reputation it has built as a well know car manufacturer in the US can be used to tap new customers in international market. Ford has built by its strong leaders and will continue to thrive if more reforms are made.