Circuit City Analysis
Issue
At the beginning of the 2007 fiscal year, Circuit City (CC) announced that it would layoff more than 3,400 of its highest paid employees (Business Week, 2008). The goal of this reduction in personnel was to reduce internal costs by eliminating a large percentage of CC’s upper and middle management. The main issue with this reduction is CC has lost most of its skilled employees and customer satisfaction has plummeted. CC needed to make changes in order to cut costs, but it failed to integrate staffing practices with strategy (Dreher & Dougherty, 2001). The result of this and many other failures at the upper management level is CC shares have fallen 28% in the last year.
Strategy
The strategy CC chose to use seemed quite simple. Fire its employees and re-hire them at a lower “market rate” wage (Business Week, 2008). This would undoubtedly save the organization a great deal of money and CEO Philip Schoonover thought it was an excellent solution. The problem was CC failed to realize it was firing its key customer service representatives. The employees who made contact with the customers on a daily basis were being let go.
Results
The result of CC firing thousands of employees is it saved money on salaries, but lost a great deal more in sales while increasing customer dissatisfaction. CC failed to integrate staff practices with strategy. These practices require an organization to characterize explicitly its business strategy then make judgments about if existing staffing practices appear to be aligned with strategic orientation. CC fired personnel but failed to see the effects these cuts would have on staff and its ability to satisfy customer needs. The result of this decision is CC shares tumbled to $4.80 during trading on December 21, 2007 hitting a new 52-week low of $4.76 earlier in the session (Business Week, 2008).
AT&T: Anabel Garcia
Issue
AT&T, BellSouth and Cingular are in the final stages of merging. The companies see a merger as combining the largest backbone for data with the larger local data provider to increase service capabilities, increase profits and become a global leader. These companies will operate as AT&T to take advantage of the oldest and most well-known brand in telephony. Some analysts believe the Cingular brand appeals more to the “in crowd” of today’s technology users and AT&T recognizes this fact.
These companies want to reduce redundancies in vendors, employee tasks and marketing; doing this will cause layoffs of over 13,000 employees.
Verizon Wireless cellular service is inelastic because the products and services it offers makes them the dominant leader in the wireless industry; therefore, a 10% change in calling plan prices (monthly access fees) would not affect the quantity demanded. Verizon Wireless can depend on this inelasticity in their pricing model because of the strength of its brand and the wealth of products and services it offers. Verizon Wireless' competitive advantage comes from its ultra-low churn rate (the percentage of customers who disconnect their service is less than one percent of its 60 million customer base). This indicator suggests that customers are satisfied with the service Verizon Wireless offers and a slight price increase probably would not drive its customers to the competition. This data also suggests that customers probably stay with Verizon Wireless because of its continued expansion of new technologies and services such as its all-digital nationwide CDMA network, EVDO' or its advanced data network (used to wireless send and receive email and other data almost anywhere in the US), and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) that they use for their Push to Talk products. Verizon Wireless markets to a nearly all demographics nationwide and most of its services are offered in the smaller rural markets as a direct result of the one billion dollars per quarter it spends on improving its network as well as acquiring smaller wireless networks to make their nationwide network stronger and larger.
The current economic downfall has forced many organizations to strategically restructure and downsize. Broadway Brokers is not immune to these economic challenges and has been faced with competition from discount brokers and Internet brokerage services. Broadway Brokers position of holding the largest market share has been jeopardized by their slow reaction to the shifting changes within the industry. Broadway Brokers staff possessed strong selling and interpersonal skills however lacked in their knowledge of the high tech skills that had been inundating the market. The organizations lack of adapting to new technology and their absorbent overhead was threatening their profitability. The organization was faced with the need to restructure, consolidate, and implement employee layoffs in order to remain competitive with the current financial climate. Rumors of impending office consolidations and staff layoffs had existed for some time. However, the CEO commentary in a Financial Times article confirmed such gossip. In fact, decisions had already been made by top management to enact a structural plan that would severely curtail offices, close offices, and reduce the level of employees across the organization. Top management was firmly fixed upon downsizing and consolidation and was now relying on its management staff to come up with a plan to implement a transition. A dozen of the company’s most respected managers – everyone from assistant vice presidents to managing directors were join together to devise a plan for change (Jick & Peiperl 2003).
Another really good strategy is an excellent wage pay and health insurance for its employees this motive and energize individuals and groups to work together to archive organizational goals. “I just think people need to make a living wage with health benefits,” says Jelinek. As CEO, he is following the globalization his biggest move is increasing Costco’s international presence. Over the next two years, Costco will open its first locations in France and Spain. Another good part in this article is that Costco does not hire business school graduates, they preserve its distinct company culture. It cultivates employees who work the floor on its warehouses and sponsor them through graduating school. They also mentioned that Sol Price’s virtuous cycle continues to work for the company happy employees are more productive, and effective workers. Jelinek is content to focus on the future of Costco, vowing to keep prices low, volumes high, and his employees happy. “As long as you continue to take care of the customer, take care of the employees, and keep your expenses in line, good things are going to happen to you” he
Sears has created a “Financial Crisis” when hedge fund manager Edward Lampert took over control of the company. The mentality of investors of a CFO is an important viewpoint during crisis because it can help streamline process and reduce cost. Retail experience should be dominant the retail in order to feel the pulse of the consumer desires and to determine proper margin levels while eliminating inefficiencies in the organization. According to Marina Strauss of the Globe and Mail, “a sweeping change will be required to improve the retailer’s outlook”. She quoted the (CEO of Sears-Canada) Mr. McDonald saying in a memo that “Our store are too difficult to shop in. We have inconsistent execution…We do not offer the right product in the right market” (STRAUSS M., 2011).
Their ability to distribute the cut rate from their operating proficiencies in supply chain management and cash flow, permits them to offers items at discounted rate and a lower price than their competitors. For Costco the meaning of being the low-cost provider while also differentiating from the competitors is ambiguous at best. Costco’s CEO, Jim Sinegal, is certain that low priced, and the high value merchandises are exactly what is needed maintain and achieve a staying power in the industry. Costco also entices their customers with low prices on designated set apart products available only at their stores. Within these designated products, Costco provides a limited selection of nationwide brand-named merchandises in some wide categories. Their approach comprises of selling a limited number of items, keep their costs down, maintain a high volume, compensate employees well, ensure that customers buy their memberships, and target upscale small-business owners through their business only
AT&T’s roots stretches all the way back to 1875, when Alexander Graham Bell created the first telephone. The main reason AT&T was created was to exploit the creation of the telephone. AT&T became a parent company to the Bell system, which was a phone company monopoly. They created a long distance telephone network that went from New York to Chicago and then on to San Francisco. Then in 1984 AT&T split into eight different phone companies. They built out to Denver in 1899 and then they hit a rough patch, the signal wasn’t too strong. Luckily, AT&T created the first practical electrical amplifier in 1913. And this made transcontinental communication possible. Bell’s patent expired in 1894 and only Bell telephone could only legally operate in the U.S. The number of telephones grew as phone wires spread across the nation, there where about 3,317,000 phones. The only downside to this early story is that, only phones with the same phone company could contact each other, this was being fixed in 1913. In 1925 there was a new president, Walter Gifford, he sold International Western Electrical Company to the ITT for 33 million to make AT&T universal. In January 1, 1984 was changed and revitalized, it no longer was the bell system. It had a new global icon, as you see today. IN 1984 AT&T carried around 37.5 million calls a day. CEO, Robert Allen, announced that on Septemb...
Upon the acquisition and merger of legacy AT&T Wireless by Cingular Wireless and the solidification of SBC, BellSouth and Cingular Wireless, the New AT&T mobility business unit now leads in the current market share narrowly over Verizon Wireless.
...strategy when the initial downsizing failed to take them out of the red or gain back lost market share.
The world is experiencing a communications revolution. The Internet, e-Commerce and other developments (including the convergence of communication technologies) are profoundly reshaping economic and social life. AT&T must position itself to meet the challenge of this revolution. The strategic development of information-based industries is a key to the future social and economic development of the world.
Happy Chips, Inc. is faced with a serious problem, with only having one mass merchandise customer called “Buy 4 Less” being unhappy with the company’s operating performance. Buy 4 Less had several problems cited including frequent stock outs, poor customer service responsiveness, and high prices for the products being supplied. Buy 4 Less came up with solutions they think seem fit to fix the problems they found with Happy Chips, Inc. and if Happy Chips, Inc. wishes to remain a supplier to their company they will have to incorporate these changes. The problem however with this scenario, is that employees of Happy Chip, Inc. are not happy with the demands Buy 4 Less has bestowed upon them which include providing direct store delivery four times a week instead of three, installing an automated order inquiry system to increase customer service responsiveness, and decreasing product prices by 5%. Even though the easiest thing for Happy Chips, Inc. to do is to agree to the changes Buy 4 Less wants them to do, Wendell Worthmann, the manager of logistics cost analysis doesn’t agree to the changes right away. The main problem with this case is that Buy 4 Less is Happy Chips, Inc. one and only mass merchandise customer that accounts for 400,000 annual unit sales and 12% of annual revenue. With the mass merchandise segment having such a high profit potential, Happy Chips, Inc.
For many years, IBM succeeded in holding a very good market position. In fact, the company achieved a very high market share and huge profits. However, this situation did not last forever. In 1990, IBM experienced its first quarterly loss of $2billion due to some unexpected accounting charges. However, revenues increased from $62.7 billion in the previous year to $96 billion. In 1991, the c...
Telecommunications gained mainstream attention in the early 90’s; however the initial key market was business men and women, who used their phones whilst being on the move and so allowing them to communicate with their companies with ease. Though in the modern era, telecommunication went through segmentation in the market trends, and now in this day and age it would be difficult to find someone who does not own some form of mobile technology. Many phone providers battle to provide the best service for their customers (Figure 1).
In conclusion, current trends and significant events concerning T-Mobile were examined. A hard look was given to the economy, demographics, technology, political and legal issues, and social characteristics. T-Mobile is strong across the board, with surprising statistics backing up a variety of topics. The economy is strong, the demographics are not far-fetched, technology is improving, there’s no huge political or legal scandal, and T-Mobile is socially strong.
In fact, some of the biggest threats to the company’s growth are the government’s regulation that increases the risk to the underlying business. In addition, the risk of losing the exclusive contract for the iPhone would be a major loss for AT&T. Most of the consumers choose AT&T because of their exclusive contract for the iPhone. Hence, this loss of business will significantly influence the AT&T's profitability and revenue. Moreover, the antitrust authorities play an important role on approved the merger of AT&T.
...ced in sales and therefore continued to earn rewards while those who did poorly were reprimanded and punished with further shortened schedules. The low morale reflected upon customers as they were angry with being forced to purchase worthless items and saw some of their favorite employees being maltreated and even fired. The greed of this company ran deep and its downward spiral is only just beginning to stop with the transition of ownership.