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Research paper on organizational development
Principles of organization development
Principles of organization development
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In this essay I am going to highlight the complex nature of an organisation and critically analyse management issues faced using two Organisation Theory lens. I will use Coles Supermarket as my case organisation to reveal how such theories can aid in bringing to light issues a business may face, and how to combat them effectively through appropriate managerial and leadership strategies. Firstly in section one, I will introduce Coles as the case organisation with the necessary statistics and facts informing you of it's nature and position. In section two I will summarise the key points and justify my choice of two Organisation Theory lens using relevant papers, namely: 1) Economic theory drawing on Daniel & Arce (2004) and Donaldson (1990) …show more content…
Coles is a business in the retail industry and prides itself with it's founding philosophy “The customers themselves really decide what goods we shall stock in our store” Coles (1928). Coles employs over 100,000 individuals in outlets such as Coles & BiLo supermarkets, First Choice Liquor, Liquorland, Vintage Cellars and Coles Express. Today Coles operates in over 2000 stores nationwide under Wesfarmers Limited who successfully acquired Coles in 2007. Wesfarmers Limited is the largest private employer in Australia and also one of Australia's largest public companies with a shareholder base of approximately 500,000. Coles has recently celebrated 100 years of growth, success and innovation with the first store opening in 1914. Statistics from the Coles Annual Report 2014 reveal the opening of 80 new format stores, 12.3% increase in profits of food & liquor, 4.7% increase in sales of food & liquor and boasts 20 quarters of industry outperformance. Coles has also analysed a sample basket to be 5.2% cheaper than 2009 despite rising inflation. Coles currently places as Australia's second largest supermarket chain in Australia holding a 33.5% share of the $82 billion grocery sector. Recent ventures by this thriving business include investments into “superstores”, partnership …show more content…
The vast majority of businesses that exist share the ultimate goal of maximising profits, even charities work towards producing profits for their cause. We are living in a Digital Revolution where technology has progressed at a phenomenal rate with corresponding rates of economic growth and globalisation. Knowledge and skills are being diffused across countries resulting in businesses adapting to the global arena. This growth is financially favourable by organisations who thrive with lower manufacturing costs, larger market shares, opportunity for innovation etc. For the more fortunate humans, this glorious era brings about benefits such as brighter career opportunities, incredible access to an impressive variety of goods and services, merging of cultures etc. I refer to individuals as “humans” as a reminder that you and I irrespective of nationality, country or socioeconomic status are all the same being. It is my view and others that every human life carries the same worth, however the world we live in today moves at a ruthless rate, benefiting some but not all. Many companies have been blinded by profits, failing to recognise social, economical , ethical and moral responsibilities. With this is in mind, I argue the importance of viewing organisation design through the Economic theory lens as it brings to light many challenges and opportunities for improvement. The Critical Management
Coles was founded in 1914 by George Coles the first Coles was called the “Coles Variety Store” in Smith Street in Melbourne. Coles is one of Australia’s largest retailers and provides fresh food, groceries, general merchandise, financial services, liquor and fuel through more than 21 million customer transactions, on average, each week through our national store network and online platform. There is strive to offer real value to customer by lowering the price of the weekly shopping basket, improving quality through fresher produce and delivering an easier, better shopping experience every day of the week. Coles is committed to lowering the cost of the weekly, making a real difference to their customers’ budget, and delivering trusted value
The Australian Supermarket and Grocery stores Industry is an $88.1 billion per annum industry, with a steady annual growth it seems very lucrative to foreign investors and other companies of the same industry but the harsh reality is the industry is not very welcoming. Giant TMC Berhad which has a huge market share in various countries but in this competitive Australian segment it will be very difficult for them to enter and sustain. The Industry is a Red Ocean Market, entailing that it’s a fiercely competitive market. The top 4 companies in this industry cover over 90% of the market share (IBIS 2016)
In 1985 G.J Coles, primarily a Melbourne-based supermarket chain, merged with Myer Ltd, an upmarket Melbourne department store, becoming Coles Myer Ltd. The merger was brought on by an expectation of significant cost savings from sharing services and overheads such as purchasing, warehousing, information technology and property. However these benefits never occurred. Coles Myer was burdened with poor management, bad strategic decisions, and internal conflict. Their share price was faltering, and lagging behind their biggest competitor Woolworths, and profit had been stagnant for three years.
When looking at Target’s value chain, it is evident that they apply aspects of both design and corporate responsibility while thinking through every decision they make to ensure it lives up to their values and helps the world. Starting at the top, they look at design. Design is what they call the heart of the business. Looking at every detail from the big picture to the small things that make a Target shopping experience, the goal is to do it with greater efficiency, style and smarts. (Corporate Responsibility Report, 2014).
Marks & Spencer is one of the UK's foremost retailers of clothing, foods, homeware and financial services, boasting a weekly customer base of 10 million in over 300 UK stores. Marks & Spencer operate in 30 countries worldwide, and has a group turnover in excess of £8 billion. It has specific values, missions and visions. It’s main vision is ‘to be the standard against which all others are measured’, it’s main mission is ‘to make aspirational quality accessible to all’, and it’s main values are quality, service, innovation and trust. (www.marksandspencer.co.uk).
Woolworths is one of the biggest retail group in Australia. Its motto is to provide fresh food to customer with in an affordable price. The company procures goods from the manufactures and also produces few products from their manufacturing plant. With its corporate office in Sydney it operates all the distribution channels, petrol sites and support centres. It has a trusted food, liquor and general merchandise brands.
The external environment has been analysed in previous sections, Appendix E lists internal capability and resources of Burberry by using porter’s value chain model, the VRIO framework will also be used to test whether the brand adds value by such activities or not.
The major players of retailing industry include Coles , Franklins and 7-Eleven. Obviously, Coles and Franklins are the major competitors of 7-Eleven. Coles is a full service supermarket operating 431 stores throughout Australia, its offers
In business, the mantra that success comes to those who can recover from setbacks is widespread all over the world. One of the organizations that poignantly illustrate this element is Costco. Costco is a warehouse firm that was founded in 1976 in San Diego. Although many people may envy the company as its owners enjoy huge success in the warehouse and retail industry, what the majority of individuals do not know is that in the first year of operations, Costco lost $750, 000, but after 3 years, the company had $1miilion in profit, 900 employees, and 200000 members. This shows that in business, the strategy can be the difference between success and failure. This essay describes how Costco has undergone evolutionary changes from its inception
Sainsbury’s (2014) states they put their “customers at the heart of everything we do and have invested in our stores, our colleagues and our channels to deliver the best possible shopping experience. Our strong culture and values are part of our identity and integral to our success.” Sainsbury’s brand is established upon providing quality at fair prices, the importance of fresh, healthy, safe and tasty food is put very high at Sainsbury’s. Sainsbury’s also offer a range of up to 30,000 products such as household products, food, grocery, and even its own products.
Value chain analyses a firm 's internal activities such as planning, production, and development, packaging and distribution so as to create value for clients. The function of the value chain is to identify the sources for cost reduction along with quality improvement. It means value chain is used to identify the strong and weak points, positive and negative points, the scope of improvement; in a nutshell, the advantages and disadvantages of the activities taking place in the system. The value chain is also called as a strategic analysis tool and it is a well-known concept in business management industry.
The food and staples retailing is an increasingly competitive industry. The market giants (competitors) are Coles (owned by Wesfarmers) which has 741 stores across Australia and plans to add 70 m...
The first impression one might have about Crocs' products are that they are basically plastic looking shoes that are comfortable and readily available. Customers familiar with this product boast, like on the company website, about "the company’s proprietary closed-cell resin, Croslite™, a technology that gives each pair of shoes the soft, comfortable, lightweight, non-marking and odor-resistant qualities"(Company.crocs.com, 2011). There are also various comments about how the material does not slip when exposed to water and of the popularity of the shoes since their "first sale in 2003"(Hoyt & Silverman, 2008, p.13). Over the last few years, the popularity of the shoes have dropped off and the purpose of this study is to present an analysis of the company's value chain and determine what changes I would incorporate and why.
The aim of the value chain structure is to maximize the value creation while minimizing costs. Value Chain Analysis is a useful tool for working out how you can create the greatest possible value for your customers. Value chain analysis relies on the rudimentary economic principle of competitive advantage -companies are best served by operating in divisions where they have a relative prolific benefit compared to their competitors. Concomitantly, companies should ask themselves where they can deliver the paramount value to their customer. To conduct a value chain analysis, the company begins by identifying each part of its production process and recognizing where steps can be purged or enhancements can be made. These improvements can result
The increased emphasis on emerging imperatives in business, like ethics, social responsibility and sustainability, are in their essence, a cry for moral ideals, although not altogether divorced of selfishness. But eventually, if genuinely applied, it may lead the corporate world to a quantum leap in evolution to a higher level of consciousness, which in the long-term will have its corresponding positive impact on the bottom-line. It will also lead to a transformation of society, where business and service can collaborate to make life better, particularly for the marginalised. However, an idea becomes an ideal if people can be convinced about the desirable