Purchase Solution

Students will develop a scenario involving an organizational conflict issue with your particular company.

Not what you're looking for?

Ask Custom Question

1. Students will develop a scenario involving an organizational conflict issue with your particular company.

2. Students will write a recommendation for managing the conflict.

Introduction

Our Sweet treats bakery was started by my Grandmother. This sells low carb, low sugar, low sodium and low fat recipes and has become very much popular. Now the demand is coming from many parts of the country and internationally. We are thinking of launching the comprehensive ecommerce strategy of our venture in order to cater to the worldwide demand of our sweets.

Environmental analysis and SWOT analysis

Socio & Economic Factors
One has monitor the economic trends like GDP trends, Interest rates, Money supply, Inflation rates, Unemployment levels, Disposable income. It has to identify the growing target segment and introducing new products and services to meet their needs.
They have to provide convenience, quality, speed and top notch products and services
to attract new customers and to retain the loyal existing customers as well. In today's modern and fast-paced world, people are constantly looking for ways to help them better manage their time. People strive to make their life better, and this home based shopping has the potential to fulfill all of these needs. Thus there is opportunity in targeting busy individuals who don't have the means, energy or time to visit the physical sweet shops.

Political Legal regulations

As an organization it should also be aware of economic, tax and business laws. One should also be aware of foreign trade regulations, attitude towards foreign companies as it want to internationalize the operations

? Alliances
There is lot of opportunity for the alliances with the manufacturers, retailers, suppliers and other websites.

Technological environment
Ecommerce or internet Marketing is an important method of passing information to clients as they would like to be fully informed as can be seen in their insistence on brands. Thus this is an important use of technology in marketing and this adds value to the aims of the marketing organization, which would like to sell more and more.
When the Internet is used, there is no requirement for any gap and one can get an order from the customer directly. What this means is that when a customer becomes interested through an advertisement for say a sweet pack, the customer can be requested to click on a sign near the product.
This will move the customer to another site where the customer will get more knowledge about the product. Then the customer also has the liberty to buy the product and the entire process from interest to purchase may be completed in very little time. (Internet Marketing Basics) It is clear that one of the most obvious results of improvement as a result of Internet has been in the areas relating to customer communications. This has made firms that were always working in a mass market situation now try to understand in situations that may be called "one to one" marketing. In Internet, one always tends to have contacts with the customer directly across the computer screen. The result is always that there are evolve several forms of direct exchanges between the client and that of the organization which takes out marketing. This makes it easier for the marketing organization in order to understand the mentality and the understanding of the client and at the same time learn regarding how to talk to the client in such a manner that will make him to purchase the product of the organization. It needs to be noted that this is not just a once in a lifetime event, but it tends to happen regularly. It is well known that communications which take place over the Internet are one of the cheapest types of communication. (Database marketing: Technology-enabled advantages in the nineties) Moreover Using Internet has following benefits:

* The Internet has a geographically disperse market.
* The main benefit of the Internet is that niche products reach a wider audience e.g. Scottish Salmon direct from an Inverness fishery.
* There are low barriers low barriers to entry as set up costs are low.

OPPORTUNITIES
Economic development of Asia and other developing countries
Trend of consumerism and online business increasing
Opening up through WTO
Opportunity of Alliances
Business 2 Business transactions are also increasing considerably.

Threats
Increasing government regulations
Strong regional competition
Technological changes and emergence of new technologies
Foreign trade hindrances
Cultural differences especially in foreign country.

Strengths:

1. Customer Intimacy

The degree of customer intimacy, community building, and one-to-one marketing is the forte of our venture Sweet treat. We have successfully created a "community feel" with its customers by our personalized services.

2. Strong Brand

It has become synonymous with the low sugar, low fat sweets. This has been achieved by continuous innovation and keep customer delight is its main focus.

3. Technology
It is able to retain the customer participation through its superior and innovations in
the product variety and purchasing the best quality raw material for the sweets.
We have our own manufacturing unit and superior quality systems which help in providing unique products and services.

Weaknesses

1) Small scale- Limited resources

Our scale is very small and has only one store up till now. Thus we have limited resource which put us in a disadvantageous position compared to the global and regional players in the industry.

2) Narrow Focus

Currently our focus is limited to the low calorie sweets which hamper our market size.

Recommendation for our Ebusiness Model

We will have strategies both for B2B and B2C.

Business to consumer
In this segment, we have the businesses that directly sell to end customers. Typically, the per customer volume of transaction is low but the number of customers serviced is large. To draw a large number of customers these sites need to do a lot of advertising, both on and off the net and are thus much more visible than other segments.

Business to business
As the name indicates, this means businesses that sell to other businesses. E.g.-Intel sells it's chips to other businesses?which make computers, motherboards and other digital devices.
This serve a limited number of people but the turnover of many a business-business site would be many times that of most famous business to consumer sites. And most importantly, they make profits. Today, Intel takes orders from its customers over the net and makes billion dollars a month.

Strategies for B2C

Competing on the Internet is different from competing in the traditional industrial world. Competition no longer takes place in the physical marketplace but in the market-space. In a typical B2C flow of information between business and consumer typically is through the medium of Internet (Refer Figure 1). This flow includes product orders/service requests from customers, product information, specifications, providing of services OR GOODS by Business etc. In addition, it may also include, flow of tangibles (e.g. goods ordered from customer, documents transfers between business and customer etc.)
CONSUMER
/
COMPUTER TERMINAL
(CLIENT)
/
COMPUTER TERMINAL
(SERVER)
/
COMPANY

Benefits for the company

a. Increased demand
b. A low-cost route to global reach
c. Cost-reduction of promotion and sales.
d. Reduced costs

Benefits for the customers

a. Lower prices
b. Wider choice
c. Better information,
d. Convenience

Thus by following the above model we will cater to our consumer directly. Visitors to the website are able to create an account using an email address and a unique password. Upon creating an account, the customer is able to place an order, check the status of that order, and keep track of previously placed orders. Upon registering with the site, a new account is created for customer use. The customer is able to search within our product categories including of electric utilities. A search for a specific product is also allowed.
The viewer can see the product catalog, purchasing options for wholesalers, contact information, a store locator, help options, and log off by clicking on the appropriate tab. Visitors to the site may select items based on specific features quality, price, and quantity. The price of each item is displayed next to a "Buy Now!" button that allows visitors to place items in an online shopping cart. The site provides the following links at the bottom of each page: Home, Privacy Policy, Site Security, Shipping Info., Return Policy, Affiliate, and Links. Payment methods VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and PayPal are also displayed at the bottom of each page.
Thus Our website will be simple but user friendly and convenient.
Thus we will effectively use the distribution strategy by having internet and ecommerce as its main elements to create competitive advantage. Internet as channel of distribution has following advantages:
* The Internet has a geographically disperse market.
* The main benefit of the Internet is that niche products reach a wider audience
* There are low barriers to entry as set up costs are low.

Web-enabled infrastructure will also allow us to customize our offerings and customers can order other products they need or desire. This virtual integration structure eliminates the need to manufacture everything, and instead uses the power of the Internet to share and exchange information with suppliers and vendors to build a truly superior supply chain that keeps inventory turnover low and costs to a minimum. This model is followed by Dell, by late 1997; it became the industry leader by keeping costs low and wringing efficiency out of the direct sales and build-to-order business model. (dotcom.com/news/dell.html).

Thus the offering products via website on the internet are not only cost effective, but also offer superior coverage for its products. This approach had two advantages: (i) by passing distributors and retail dealers eliminated the markups of resellers, and (ii) building to order greatly reduced the costs and risks associated with carrying large stocks of parts, components and finished goods. Thus B2C model will help us to build and provide superior customer service globally.

Growth through B2B markets

B2B is increasing rapidly and it will give the chance to tap this market and utilize its innovative tools to penetrate and grow in this market. It can provide ecommerce enabled supply chains to tap following strategic opportunities. It can use B2B portals to purchase its raw material and to streamline its supply chain. The B2B markets can be useful in following manner:
? To provide a starting point where buyers and sellers enter the market either through a web browser, procurement interface or supply chain optimization solution.
? To gather buyers and sellers of a specific industry in a centralized marketplace actively collecting and controlling the data that is shared within the market.
? To facilitate and enable transactions by building trust in the on-line market through credit verifications, reputation ratings and decision making support tools.
? To support post-transaction customer service such as warranty and maintenance, asset management etc to promote recurring participation like it is doing in B2C and the market places. For performing these functions, e-markets get their revenue from advertising, subscription fees from members, transaction fees, data collection fees, licensing fees etc.

Thus it can create value in B2B space for it members by aggregating buyers and sellers, creating marketplace liquidity and reducing transaction costs.
Implementation

Implementation issues

Effective implementation depends upon carefully communicating the strategy to all stakeholders - both inside and outside the organization. It involves creating fits between way things are done & what it takes for effective strategy execution and delivering the right results at right time.

PRINCIPAL TASKS OF STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION

* Building a capable organization
* Allocating ample resources to strategy-critical activities
* Establishing strategy supportive policies & procedures
* Instituting best practices & mechanisms for continuous improvement
Handling of Privacy and cultural issues effectively

There are issues of diverse cultures and languages; legal and regulatory differences; localization, technology and infrastructure. Moreover the markets are flooded with various products. Various options are available for end customers to switch loyalties. Hence the product life cycles are considerably shorter. Shorter product life cycles have denied companies the sustained growth and financial benefits and posed a challenge of survival to many others.
Thus the survival of many organizations is at stake. Another issue is of privacy and security. The most important challenge that e-commerce face is the ability to guarantee customers' privacy and safety when doing transactions online. Thus the major worries encountered in electronic commerce transactions are that of data protection, data authenticity and taxation.
Another worry is to manage cultural barriers and differences of beliefs, ideas, norms and values that shape peoples' lives. The challenge is to find the common ground between cultures on which to build and market their products.

The ethical processes of providing safe and secure medium of enabling the transactions are key to the success of business website. The other Security Issues such as Firewalls, viruses, hacking, site certificates, encryption and privacy policies are the major areas of concern which are holding corporations back from entering the digital world too deeply as it makes them more vulnerable to corruption and breakdown. Thus proper measures has to be taken by the sweet treats to tackle the above issues.

Conclusion

Following will be our USP:

1. The quality of their offerings;
2. Personalized services and sourcing those big organizations cannot afford.
3. Community building
4. Products for Low Calorie market.

Thus by offering customers content and time value, E-Marketing has opened new vistas for marketers like sweet treats. The greatest feature of the digital economy is that it enables the E-Marketer to eradicate many traditional barriers before entering new markets. These barriers include economies of scale and geographic positioning. The innate strength of an E-Market comes not from the seamless flows of goods and services from the producer to the customer but in the geometrically increasing returns from converging ideas and technological change. The strength of online communities has never been so great, and companies have used them to develop new markets.
Time has come for it to fine tune its business process to incorporate the customer responses to leverage the power of the Web to gain competitive advantage over the rivals. It should focus on its best selling products and also avoid brand dilution. Moreover it should rapidly expand its international operations to tap the growth in international markets.

References
? Information management by K.D. Saxena
? MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
? F.F.Reichheld and P.Schefter, "E-Loyalty :Your Secret weapon on the Web," Harvard Business Review July-August 2000 ,pp. 105-113
? Business Models for Electronic Markets by Paul Timmers, Electronic Markets, Vol. 8, No. 2, 1998.

? http://www.indiainfoline.com/bisc/ieec.html
? Anderson, Elana. "Seven Ways to Bridge Marketing and IT" CMO Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.cmomagazine.com/analyst/123004_forrester.html Accessed 17 November, 2005
? Austin, Mark; Aitchison, Jim. "Is Anybody Out There? The New Blueprint for Marketing
? Communications in the 21st Century" Retrieved from http://www.business-in-asia.com/is_anybodyoutthere.html Accessed 17 November, 2005
? "Chapter 1: Introduction to Global Marketing" Retrieved from
http://www.fao.org/docrep/W5973E/w5973e02.htm Accessed 18 November, 2005
? DeLegge, Peter. "Internet Marketing Basics" Retrieved from
http://www.marketingtoday.com/imarketing/imbasics.htm Accessed 18 November, 2005

? En.wikipedia.org
? My past papers

Purchase this Solution

Solution Summary

Discussion is 1.878 words plus 12 references.

Solution Preview

Sweet treats
1. Students will develop a scenario involving an organizational conflict issue with your particular company.

Conflict is "a situation of competition in which the parties are aware of the incompatibility of potential future positions and in which each party wishes to occupy a position which is incompatible with the wishes of the other."
Thomas has defined conflict as a process that begins when one party has negatively affected or is about to negatively affects, something that the first party cares about.

Thus a conflict is a perception in mind of an individual or group of individuals that the other person or group is hindering the first party from achieving a goal.

There are several causes of conflict. It will depend on the mindset of the parties involved in the situation conflict escalation mode or conflict resolution mode. Conflict in the organization primarily occurs when concerns are narrow and goals conflict, resources and power are seen to be limited and values are regarded as undesirable.
For example difference in objectives of two different individuals in the organization can be the source of conflict.

(Udai, Pareek)
Deutsch (1973) has suggested five types of basic issues underlying conflicts:
Control over resources, preferences and nuisances, values, beliefs and the nature of relationship between parties. Thus internal characteristics of conflict include perception of the goal, perception of the other, view of the other's actions, definition of problem, communication, and internal group dynamics. These can be explained as follows:

? Perception of the goal becomes a problem when success becomes competitive, the focus is placed on the solution rather than attaining the goal.
? Perception of the other can create conflict when the attitude becomes "us versus them." Similarities and differences are emphasized causing division within a group.
? View of other's actions can be a problem when the situation is competitive instead of cooperative. Behavior can be suspicious in a competitive environment.
? Definition of problem can result in conflict when the size of the problem is escalated, issues are misconstrued, and original issues are lost.
? Communication in a competitive environment can cause mistrust and information may be withheld or may be lacking. Communication is not open and honest.
? Internal group dynamics can be negative when the group structure is ...

Purchase this Solution


Free BrainMass Quizzes
Marketing Management Philosophies Quiz

A test on how well a student understands the basic assumptions of marketers on buyers that will form a basis of their marketing strategies.

Writing Business Plans

This quiz will test your understanding of how to write good business plans, the usual components of a good plan, purposes, terms, and writing style tips.

Organizational Behavior (OB)

The organizational behavior (OB) quiz will help you better understand organizational behavior through the lens of managers including workforce diversity.

Introduction to Finance

This quiz test introductory finance topics.

MS Word 2010-Tricky Features

These questions are based on features of the previous word versions that were easy to figure out, but now seem more hidden to me.