Employability Skills for HR Success

Introduction

Employability skills are transferable skills which are required by an individual in order to make them employable. Moreover, employability skills are the effective subject knowledge and technical understanding required by the employers for the employees to recruit potential candidates in helping them operate their organisation. In this assignment, the employability skills required by the Assistant HR Manager of BT along with the staffs in the organisation are discussed for supporting their operation with the Prince’s Trust. Moreover, team management skills along with problem-solving strategies to be developed at work to resolve problems for BT and Prince's Trust are also discussed.

Task 1

1.1 Developing set of own performance objectives and responsibilities

The set of personal responsibilities for applying to the post of Assistant HR Manager at BT includes:

To recruit and select manpower with the help of competency mapping so that the target and objectives at work can be effectively met on an annual basis by potential contribution of the right and knowledgeable employees

To perform induction program, training and development of the new as well as existing employees. This is because through the induction program the new employees are going to get easily accustomed to working culture at BT and Prince's Trust. Moreover, training and development would lead to better performance of the existing employees helping BT to extend their support in an effective manner for the proper operation of Prince’s Trust.

To manage grievances of the employees without partiality so that conflicts at work can be avoided

To monitor and review the detailed performance of the employees on a weekly basis

To introduce rewards and recognition for employees to motivate them to work more effectively for better progress of the organisation

The performance objectives for the responsibilities as an Assistant HR Manager at BT are as follows:

Employee-focused objectives for ensuring employees to work in a positive environment where their grievances and issues at work are effectively resolved

Engagement and Recognition objectives in which employees are to be recognised to make them engaged at work to improve productivity

Training and development objectives to train employees to successfully meet the technical and non-technical requirement at work

1.2 Evaluating own effectiveness in relation to the mentioned objectives

The evaluation result of the effectiveness related to the mentioned objectives as an Assistant HR Manager at BT:

1.3 Recommendations for the improvement

In relation to the new job as the Assistant HR Manager at BT, the strengths possessed by me include advocacy, compliance and employee development. As mentioned by Marchington (2015), advocacy is required by the HR as they are often thought of as the employee' voice. I have the potential to bridge the gap through advocacy between employee and employers so that employees feel they are valued at work by the management of BT. However, I suggest BT still need to improve in this phase by effectively implementing grievance cell and maintaining intranet facility within the organisation. This is to resolve the gap as the present services provided by them are not up to the mark for the employees to communicate their problems related to work with the management. Moreover, I have the strength to effectively comply with the rules and regulation of employee training, development and recognition at work. However, I lack the strength to strategically measure the benchmark based on which the training and recognition are to be provided accordingly to the employees. Thus, I recommend BT to arrange training for me and separately set benchmarks based on which I can effectively arrange training and recognition of employees. Moreover, being less focused on consumer is one of my weaknesses. As commented by Taylor (2017), lack of consumer-focused management leads to reduce revenue earnings for the company. This is because employees even after providing an effective contribution at work are unable to fulfil the demands and needs of consumers; as a result, the dissatisfied consumers avoid availing services from the company. Thus, I recommend BT to inform me thoroughly about the specific demands and needs of their target consumers so that I understand in which I need to manage my employees to allow them to deliver consumer-focused services.

1.4 Reviewing and advising the way motivational techniques can be used for motivation performance of young people

The motivation of the employees at work is required to make them committed to work so that they are able to increase the organisation’s productivity and let the organisation achieve increased output (Magani and Tobing, 2018). As mentioned by Malik et al. (2015), rewards and recognition boost the individuals to work harder to show their true potential. This is because the individuals feel their efforts are being valued. Thus, the reward and recognition technique can be used by the staffs and volunteers at Prince’s Trust to motivate the young people to achieve their true potential. As asserted by Diamantidis and Chatzoglou (2014), encouraging employees to participate in learning and training process helps the individuals to develop their skills and resolve weakness. This, in turn, motivates individuals to achieve true potential as the barriers which avoid them to reach their potential are resolved. Thus, it can be used by the staffs and volunteers at the Prince’s Trust to motivate young people to achieve their determined potential. The staffs at the Prince’s Trust can also introduce evaluation and feedback sessions where young individuals are to be informed about the level and way of improvement they require to develop. This is going to motivate the young people to understand the activities they need to perform in turn leading them to achieve their potential which could not be achieved previously due to lack of information and guidance.

Task 2

Introduction

Work-based problems are to be resolved to ensure smooth workflow and effective productivity of the organisation. In this report, solution related to resolving hindrance in team management in Prince’s Trust is discussed. Moreover, the ways the solutions are to be communicated to the team members and line manager are also advised.

2.1 Reflective report regarding the way to develop solution for work-based problems faced by Prince’s Trust and BT

The main work-based problem being faced at the Prince’s Trust is that there is lack of coordination between team members as each of them belongs from diverse background. In this respect, Bono’s Six-Thinking Hats strategy can be used which is going to extend the way of my thinking regarding how the problem can be resolved at Prince’s Trust. The white hat represents proper recording and use of potential data and information (De Bono, 2017). Thus, I think that I am going to provide information to each of the members in the team regarding the way they can interact and accustomed themselves in diverse working situation when their colleagues belong from different culture and ethnic background. This is going to help each of the team members to initiate effective communication with one another which is the basis of collaboration between teams. The red hat informs people to put their feeling and emotions without prejudice and justification (Kivunja, 2015). Thus, I would ask the team members at Prince’s Trust to avoid involvement of any prejudice while working within the team so that none of the team members feels discriminated and each one work with harmony and love. The yellow hat represents positive view of things (Wei et al. 2018). Thus, according to this hat, I am going to ask the team members to develop positive views regarding each other and avoid any negative feeling while working within the team. This is going to avoid development of conflicts between team members which is hindering collaboration as positive thinking is going to help them develop positive vibes for one another. The black hat represents caution (Pinto et al. 2015). Thus, according to this hat, I am going to be cautious regarding any member of the team who is facing hindrance and showing negativity to accept working in collaborative situation. This is because it may lead to conflict and lack of team building. The green hat represents creative thinking and development of new ideas (Aithal and Kumar, 2017). According to this hat, I am going to ask team members to develop creative ideas and share them with team members so that they can execute work more efficiently in a collaborative manner. The blue hat represents control (Payette and Barnes, 2017). According to this hat, I am going to ask each of the team members to have personal control so that while decision-making within the team each member is given equal scope to put forward their ideas. This is required so that collaborative decision is taken in selecting the right idea for executing the team goal so that none of the team members feels they are not valuable.

2.2 Demonstrating the way the solutions are to be communicated to the manager and the team

The developed solutions related to the work-based problems at Prince’s Trust are to be communicated to the line manager through assertive and face-to-face communication. As mentioned by Tripathy (2018), assertive communication is done by confident expression of ideas and information by the individuals. This is helpful to make the listener feel confidence in the ideas being presented by the communicator. Thus, using assertive communication is going to help me as the HR manager to get easy approval for implementing the solutions developed by me for the work-based problem at Prince's Trust from the line manager. As asserted by Al Saifi et al. (2016), face-to-face communication helps to get instant feedback and effectively manage the delicate situation. Thus, using while communicating the solution to the line manager it is going to help me to reframe any solution in a better way by getting feedback. This is required so that the solutions become more effective than before to resolve the work-based problem at Prince’s trust. Further, intra-personal and interpersonal communication is to be used along with face-to-face communication with the team members of the Prince's Trust to communicate them the solutions they can use to resolve the problems at work. The intra-personal communication usually takes place between individuals (Men, 2014). This communication is to be used by me to personally influence each member to accept the solutions develop according to their perspective. The interpersonal communication takes place among various individuals (Mikkelson et al. 2015). This form of communication is to be used by me so that each member in the team are made to understand the importance of implementing the solution and benefit they are going to have through teamwork and collaborative decision-making.

Conclusion

The above discussion informs that through the development of love and harmony, informing individuals regarding the way to interact with people of diverse culture, avoiding discrimination, sharing ideas and implementation of other solution is going to resolve the work-based solution related to team management at Prince’s Trust. Moreover, through assertive communication with the line manager and through intra and intercommunication with the team members the developed solutions are to be communicated.

2.3 Identifying two management strategies that can be used to mitigate time management risk

The two time management strategies to be implemented which are effective to mitigate time management risk include the development of long and short-term objectives and preparing to-do-list. As mentioned by Aeon and Aguinis (2017), to-do-list informs about the kinds and variety of tasks to be performed. This is important to keep track of the tasks which are to be performed thus avoiding waste of time that may happen due to confusion related to what tasks are to be performed. As mentioned by Too and Weaver (2014), development of goals and objectives are important as they assist to turn the vision and mission to specific measurable targets. This helps to accomplish the tasks into reality within determined time, in turn, avoiding risk with time management issues.

Task 3

3.1 Explaining the role played by individuals in a team at Prince’s Trust and the way they are going to work collaboratively

There are various benefits related to teamwork such as development of better decision and diverse ideas are presented from different team members, development of mutual support, easy removal of constraints at work through collaborative approach and others (Betta, 2016). While working within a team there are various roles to be played. According to Belbin's Team role, on a team, there are nine roles to be played (Eubanks et al. 2016). In Prince’s Trust, the roles to be played within a team are determined by following Belbin’s Team Dynamics.

The benefit of implementing Belbin’s Team role theory for team at Prince’s Trust is that it is going to help the team members excel in tasks even during pressure and challenging situation. Moreover, mature and confident decision can be taken by the team by following the theory (Senaratne and Gunawardane, 2015). However, the team while following this theory is going to face lack of drive for inspiration to accomplish tasks. The Belbin’s team role theory has no mechanisms to ensure that team member’s feelings are not offended (Meslec and Curşeu, 2015). Thus, it can create conflict among team members and face lack of coordination within the team to accomplish shared objectives and goals related to any task.

3.2 Analysing the possible team dynamics at the Prince’s Trust

The team dynamics are referred to the unconscious psychological forces which influence the direction of behaviour and performance of a team (Eubanks et al. 2016). According to Tuckman’s Model of Team Development and Dynamics, there are four stages of group development that are Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. As mentioned by Vigier and Spencer-Oatey (2018), in the formation stage the team members are introduced to one another. At this stage, open communication acts as the team dynamics in Prince’s Trust through which the team members initiate to know each other. At the storming stage, the team members initiate to sort each other and try to develop each other’s trust (Börstler and Hilburn, 2016). The team members at this stage in Prince’s Trust try to voice their opinion regarding each other because each them wish to show their capability and knowledge related to the task to be accomplished. At the Norming stage, the team develops an understanding regarding competition and shared goals within the team (Lawrence and Whyte, 2017). Thus, at this stage, the team at Prince's Trust develop supportive and creative operation to resolve grievances within team for developing clarity regarding the vision and mission of the shared goals and objectives. At the performing stage, the team is already seen to be motivated and knowledgeable regarding what is to be done to reach the shared goals and objectives (Stowell and Cooray, 2016). Thus, the key team dynamics in Prince’s Trust which influence at this stage is strong focus on the outcomes as the team is going to perform the tasks to meet the shared goals and objectives.

The group development is important because it helps to share creative ideas in accomplishing tasks in an easier manner within less time (Raes et al. 2015). This is because each member of the group has diverse knowledge which is gathered to reach an effective decision to be implemented to accomplish the task in an easier way with collaborative effort. For instance, while developing strategies for motivation of young people to let them achieve their potential you as a single employee in the Prince’s Trust may be confused to identify what are the potential motivational techniques to be implemented. However, in the presence of a group you can discuss and get suggestion from the group members to reach an effective decision for the successful determination of motivational techniques. During group development, it is ensured that the group members are selected in such a way so that each one resolves each other’s weakness so that the group task allocated is effectively accomplished. Moreover, during group development, each member based on their area of expertise and knowledge is allocated the roles they are to perform to execute the task (Dong et al. 2017). Thus, group development is relevant in forming a dynamic team as it is going to develop a team that is potential to resolve any hindrances in tasks to accomplish it in an effective and successful way. This is because each member is given the role based on their knowledge.

3.3 Suggesting alternative ways in which the workforce planning and goals can be achieved at my department

In my department, I am going to use effective communication, reliability and standard setting as alternative ways to complete the task of workforce planning to achieve team goals. As mentioned by Linton et al. (2016), effective communication helps to deliver clarified information regarding the way to accomplish task as well as helps to avoid confusion among team members. This result in helping the team members understand the specific roles they are to perform while accomplishing the task. Thus, using effective communication is going to help me in mentioning the team members about the way they are to work and role to be performed in turn assisting to properly achieve team goals without creating confusion. As argued by Banks et al. (2014), lack of reliability within team members leads to development of conflict among each other as each one feels they are partially treated than the others. The rise of conflict creates delay at work disrupting the determined work plan. Thus, to avoid such situation I am going to use reliability as an alternative technique to ensure team goals are accomplished by following work plan. The reliability is to be ensured by me by providing equal opportunity and exposure to the team members without any form of partial management. The setting of work standards leads to effective workforce planning as the team members or workforce develop knowledge regarding the extent of effort they are to provided to meet the standard to accomplish the given tasks successfully (Khan et al. 2017). Thus, it can be an effective way to accomplish team goals in the department as the team members would have knowledge regarding the extent of effort they are to put forth to achieve success to deliver quality work.

Task 4

4.1 Evaluating the use of different problem-solving tools which can be used by staffs and volunteers for developing solution to work-based problem

The problem-solving tools are those which critically assess a problem to reach a defined solution to resolve it. The staffs in the Prince’s Trust can use Root Cause Analysis as a problem-solving tool to develop solutions to identified problems. As per Latino et al. (2016), root cause analysis is the problem-solving tool that traces the original cause of the problem. The information is required to develop a solution so that the problem can be migrated from the root. The use of Root Cause Analysis (RCA) tool is effective for Prince’s Trust as by using it they can examine the problem related to work performance from the root rather than relying on unverified perception and assumptions related to the created problem. However, the limitation of the RCA tool is that they identify many casual factors as root causes related to the problem in work performance that does not require being resolved (Peerally et al. 2017). Thus, using it is going to lead Prince's Trust to spend extra time and money in solving problem-related to work.

The staffs in the Prince’s Trust can also use Drill Down Technique as a potential problem-solving tool. As mentioned by Keyte and Locher 2016), Drill Down Technique breaks down the problem into various smaller components which enables to identify solution in an effective manner. This is because the staffs are able to break a large and complex problem into smaller manageable parts to develop a solution. It is beneficial as the staffs do not get confused regarding the way to manage a complex problem. However, the limitation is that the tool only identifies the problem but do not provide a potential solution to deal with the complex matters.

4.2 Developing strategies for resolving the defined problem

The company which remain off from the public for a long time is often forgotten and require effective strategy to be the public image. In this respect, Prince's Trust is also facing the same situation and in this phase, the best strategy is to create an attractive online campaign regarding the services being provided by the trust. As mentioned by Jankowski et al. (2016), online campaign helps to reach a wider population within minimised time. This is because in the present era the presence of internet and broadband services has helped information to be reached worldwide within a click. Thus, using online campaign is going to lead Prince's Trust aware about their activities to the public within minimum time. For this purpose, the Prince's Trust can select social media platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn and others. Moreover, an online campaign is cost effective in nature and therefore it can be beneficial for the Trust to create awareness regarding them within low cost.

4.3 Evaluating effect of implementation of strategy selected in 4.2 for Prince’s Trust

The implementation of an online campaign has various benefits for the products as well as the company. As mentioned by Dalessandro et al. (2015), online campaign help in enhancing brand recognition. This is because more frequently a certain brand or information regarding services by a company is shown up on the social media the greater brand exposure is achieved resulting in the greater recognition of the brand or services. Thus, adopting online campaign by Prince’s Trust is going to increase their brand recognition through greater exposure, in turn, beginning to turn it into public eyes. As argued by Lukkarinen et al. (2016), online camping helps to increased trust through leveraged credibility. This is because in case the campaign or information regarding the Prince’s Trust is retweeted by an influence in the industry in the online media it gets effective exposure. Further, the implementation of the online campaign is going to help Prince’s Trust get more consumers as wider publicity in various areas are received where the public are effectively informed regarding their services.

Conclusion

The discussion informs that as an Assistant HR Manager the key responsibilities are recruitment, performing effective induction program and training, monitoring and review of employees, arranging employee management and others. The BT is recommended to create a grievance cell, arrange intranet facility and others for better performance of the HR manager. Moreover, by using Bono’s Six Hat strategy BT is recommended to develop an effective diverse and collaborative working culture where employees from the different ethnic background can work collaboratively without any issues as a team. Moreover, it is seen that Prince’s Trust uses Belbin’s team role strategy for mentioning roles to the team members and uses Tuckman’s Theory for team management. Lastly, Prince's Trust is suggested to use the online campaign as the strategy to make them public and aware consumers regarding their services in an effective way.

References

Aeon, B. and Aguinis, H., 2017. It’s about time: New perspectives and insights on time management. Academy of Management Perspectives, 31(4), pp.309-330.

Aithal, P.S. and Suresh Kumar, P.M., 2017. Ideal Analysis for Decision Making in Critical Situations through Six Thinking Hats Method. International Journal of Applied Engineering and Management Letters (IJAEML), 1(2), pp.1-9.

Al Saifi, S.A., Dillon, S. and McQueen, R., 2016. The relationship between face to face social networks and knowledge sharing: an exploratory study of manufacturing firms. Journal of knowledge management, 20(2), pp.308-326.

Banks, G.C., Batchelor, J.H., Seers, A., O'Boyle Jr, E.H., Pollack, J.M. and Gower, K., 2014. What does team–member exchange bring to the party? A meta‐analytic review of team and leader social exchange. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(2), pp.273-295.

Betta, M., 2016. Self and others in team-based learning: Acquiring teamwork skills for business. Journal of Education for Business, 91(2), pp.69-74.

Börstler, J. and Hilburn, T.B., 2016. Team projects in computing education. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 16(2), p.4.

Ceschi, A., Dorofeeva, K. and Sartori, R., 2014. Studying teamwork and team climate by using a business simulation: how communication and innovation can improve group learning and decision-making performance. European Journal of Training and Development, 38(3), pp.211-230.

Dalessandro, B., Hook, R., Perlich, C. and Provost, F., 2015. Evaluating and optimizing online advertising: Forget the click, but there are good proxies. Big data, 3(2), pp.90-102.

De Bono, E., 2017. Six thinking hats. Penguin UK.

Diamantidis, A.D. and Chatzoglou, P.D., 2014. Employee post‐training behaviour and performance: evaluating the results of the training process. International Journal of Training and Development, 18(3), pp.149-170.

Dong, Y., Bartol, K.M., Zhang, Z.X. and Li, C., 2017. Enhancing employee creativity via individual skill development and team knowledge sharing: Influences of dual‐focused transformational leadership. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(3), pp.439-458.

Eubanks, D.L., Palanski, M., Olabisi, J., Joinson, A. and Dove, J., 2016. Team dynamics in virtual, partially distributed teams: Optimal role fulfillment. Computers in human behavior, 61, pp.556-568.

Lawrence, P. and Whyte, A., 2017. What do experienced team coaches do?: Current practice in Australia and New Zealand. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 15(1), p.94.

Magani, Y.I. and Tobing, S.J.L., 2018. Relationship of The Discipline And Motivation On Performance Employees. Fundamental Management Journal, 3(1), pp.74-79.

Meslec, N. and Curşeu, P.L., 2015. Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups. Learning and Individual Differences, 39, pp.81-88.

Pinto, T., Barreto, J., Praça, I., Sousa, T.M., Vale, Z. and Pires, E.S., 2015. Six thinking hats: A novel metalearner for intelligent decision support in electricity markets. Decision Support Systems, 79, pp.1-11.

Senaratne, S. and Gunawardane, S., 2015. Application of team role theory to construction design teams. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 11(1), pp.1-20.

Vigier, M. and Spencer-Oatey, H., 2018. The interplay of rules, asymmetries in language fluency, and team dynamics in culturally diverse teams: Case study insights. Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, 25(1), pp.157-182.

Executive summary:

Business strategies are the plans that are set by marketers to meet their organisational objectives. Tesco, the UK based retail giant is going to implement new business strategies for developing its business and increasing the market profit. Through market globalisation, Tesco is going to expand its business into the overseas market by implementing proper strategic plan. Moreover, this discussion concludes that, Tesco needs to restructure its resources, and business framework to be prepared for the market challenges in the new market. Moreover, Tesco needs to have the SMART objectives in terms of meeting the organisational target for making proper business expansion. Tesco marketers focus their attention in designing effective strategic planning for dealing improving the performance, overcoming the impact of issues and implementing eth new planning for assuring the market growth. Tesco, UK based retailer, has occupied fourth position in the global retail market. It faces the cut-through competition in the market by the potential marketers such as Aldi, Lidi and Netto. In case of Tesco, core competencies assist eth marketers to access the wide varieties of markets and marketers in global retail market. By linking the supply chain process to the official website of Tesco, Tesco.com, marketers are now able to access the ever-increasing competitive chain in the global market. Through their strong market team, human resource department, mechanical team and innovative strategies, Tesco marketers have achieve the competitive advantage in marketer.

Introduction:

Business strategy is the long-term plans that are designed to meet the marketing goals and objectives of an organisation considering different business factors. Tesco, UK based retailer, has occupied fourth position in the global retail market. It faces the cut-through competition in the market by the potential marketers such as Aldi, Lidi and Netto. Tesco marketers focus their attention on designing effective strategic planning for improving the performance, overcoming the impact of issues and implementing the new market planning for assuring the market growth. This report is going to discuss the overall business strategic planning of Tesco Plc and the way in which it is going to implement this planning for having the optimal benefits. Moreover, this report will also highlight the formulation of new strategies by this firm in terms of dealing with ever-increasing market competition.

Task 1:

LO1: Understand the process of strategic planning:

1.1 Accessing the ways in which vision, mission, goals, objectives and core competencies would inform the strategic planning:

According to Klettner et al. (2014), strategic planning is important for designing the viable process to access the vision, mission goals and objectives of an organisation. Tesco Plc has already set its standard in the global retail market with their clear goals, customer oriented approaches and loyal as well as highly relevant mission.

Mission:

As stated by Martinez-Simarro et al. (2015), mission statement of any organisation, represent the basic information about its core objectives, values, core purposes and visionary purposes. Mission is considered the aim of enterprise that states the reason of establishment of this organisation. From the given case study, it can be stated that, Tesco always aims to put their customers, employees and communities at the heart of their business process. Marketers of Tesco have the objective to provide the impressive shopping experience to all the customers by marinating the high standard and quality of product and service. Mission of Tesco Plc represent the initiative of mangers in inspiring as well as motivating the employees to work harder thereby facilitating eth process of team building. By evaluating these objectives and aims of Tesco Plc, the new mission statement of Tesco is:

Conducting customer based business strategy for archiving their lifetime loyalty and improving their shopping experience forever

Vision: According to Fiorino and Bhan (2016) vision determines as well as outlines the aims and objectives of organisation that it wants to do in the near future. Vision plays crucial role on communicating the purpose and goal of the organisation. Marketers of Tesco aim to improve the business process by implementing new strategies and techniques for maintaining their high standard in the near future. By evaluating the goals, objectives and activities of Tesco it can be stated that vision of Tesco are:

Tesco wants to hold their long-term success by focusing on improvisation their business strategies.

Tesco has the core vision of being maintaining their business strength as well as global marketing standard to adapt itself with the changing market and customer expectation

It aims to evolve with new as well as innovative ideas for attaining the global; market approach

Therefore the new vision statement for Tesco is:

To maintain the high value business standard in the global retail market by service customers as well as global community in well-organised manner

Goals and objectives:

It is specific set of desire that organisation aims to achieve within the preset period. As stated by Bentley-Goode et al. (2017) each enterprise needs to set its goals in order to maintain the successful business strategy that will assist eth marketers to meet all its business objectives. Goals and objectives are the similar that assist the marketers to set proper vision and mission of their organisation in order to run successful business. According to Fontana et al. (2017), in some aspects, objectives and goals are different to each other. Objectives are mostly referred as the progress that is needed to achieve the business target and goals can be referred as the destination for ultimate success.

Goals and objectives for Tesco Plc are:

To attain top position in the UK retail market

To deal with the ever increasing competition in retail market by Aldi, Lidi and Netto

To conduct high standard leadership and management process for implementing business strategies to achieve the business targets

To set the Zero Carbon business by 2050

To reassess and formulate the clear business strategies in terms of maintaining long term customer relationship

Core competencies:

As stated by Spender (2014), it is an important business aspect that provides the competitive edge to an organisation over the other enterprises in the global market. In case of Tesco, core competencies assist eth marketers to access the wide varieties of markets and marketers in global retail market. By linking the supply chain process to the official website of Tesco, Tesco.com, marketers are now able to access the ever-increasing competitive chain in the global market. Through their strong market team, human resource department, mechanical team and innovative strategies, Tesco marketers have achieve the competitive advantage in marketer. For better progress, they need to maintain their high standard customer relationship and relevant business strategies.

1.2. Analysis of the factors when formulating the strategic planning:

Some important factors are needed to be analysed while formulating eth strategic planning.

Employee engagement:

According to Belton (2017), employee engagement is one of eth important aspects during formulating the strategic planning. Managers of Tesco Plc always focus on improving the efficiency level off their work force in order to enhance their compatibility to deal with new market challenges. For this purpose, human resource team has already developed the Executive committee that will assess the progress of work team for evaluating their performance level. Tesco believes in empowerment of employee in terms of monitoring their activities to ensure the implementation of viable business strategies. Tesco also sgare the positive as well as friendly environment with its employee in encouraging them to deal with every day work pressure

Communication:

Successful formulation of strategic planning is based on the fact that there must not be single communication gaps between the different management level or different departments (Meckling, 2015). Tesco Plc believes on maintaining strong communication between each hierarchy level for establishing as well as monitoring the performance, activities, decisions and customer dealing process of this firm. Tesco managers have applied the Top down and Bottom up management process in this firm to ensure the smooth functioning of business process. Tesco also follows the decentralised organisational structure and the flexible work environment in order to minimise the communication gap between employees and management.

Innovation:

As stated by Schaltegger et al. (2016), due to the ever-increasing expectations and changing customer trend, innovation in the strategic planning process is important any firm. Tesco follows the continuous augmentation in the product range in terms of meeting changing customer demand. Tesco mangers and marketers focus on implementing innovative techniques and processes to adapt their business framework with the changing market trend.

Project managing:

Project management is one of the important processes during formulation of eth strategic planning. Boyd et al. (2017) commented that, through project planning the manager of firm could easily set the relevant goals as well as find out eth viable processes in terms of meeting these goals. Tesco Plc focuses on conducting the high quality project management for establishing as well as monitoring relevant objectives that will assist eth marketers to enhance firm’s productivity. By conducting proper project planning, Tesco focuses on utilisation of proper resources such as investment of revenue in right place. Through proper project planning, Tesco is going to grab the success in the competitive retailing world.

Organisational culture:

Organisational culture is important for conducting the useful formulation of eth strategic planning. As commented by Sieger et al. (2015) positive, encouraging and productive culture is required in a firm to motivate staffs in terms of dealing with the changing customer and market trend. Tesco managers always focus on maintaining the flexible as well as creative working environment, which not only provides work freedom to staffs but also offers them good opportunity to apply their creativity and innovation for enhancing company’s productivity.

1.3 Evaluating the usefulness of the two techniques that are used by the Tesco in terms of developing the strategic planning:

Two types of the techniques that are used by the Tesco for developing strategic planning are as follows:

BCG matrix:

This mode is also known as the growth share matrix, which is based on eth product life cycle theory (Torquati et al. 2018). This model is based on eth fact that, a firm’s business can be classified into four different parts according to market growth as well as market share relating to the largest competitor. Here Dogs highlight the low market share, Question mark represent rapidly growing business, Stars represent the development of large amount of cash and Cash flow shows the return on the assets. Through this matrix, Tesco marketers can easily analyse the profitability as well as future aspect in this company. They will also analyse the future growth in the overseas market and market challenges that can arise for the market entry in case of Tesco.

Limitation of this BCG matrix is that, from the four classification of business, it is not possible for eth Tesco marketers to analyse the competitive market, competitive advantage and customer preference. Moreover, BCG matrix is also unable to assist marketers in conducting proper market evaluation to understand the current market trend and customer interest in the new market.

Mc Kinsey Matrix:

This matrix has the nine dimensions, which represent the growth, financial ability and industry attractiveness for particular company (Shen et al. 2015). Through this matrix, marketers of Tesco can consider as well as evaluate different business factors such as market growth, market size, customer preference, competitive level current market trend. The crucial strength on this model is to assist the marketers in terms of determining possible business level during strategic implementation

Limitation of this model is, Tesco marketers may be failed to apply each aspect of this model in accurate manner, which can leads to vague result.

Task 2:

LO 2: Able to formulate the new strategy:

2.1 Analysing the strategic position of Tesco by carrying an internal audit:

In terms of analysing the current strategic position of Tesco, SWOT analysis is used that will help to find out the actual strength, weakness, opportunities and threats in case of Tesco. By evaluating the following information, management of Tesco will be able to frame sustainable business strategy in order to improve the business operation for making proper business escalation.

2.2 Carry out the environmental audit for Tesco

For conducting the environmental audit to know how the current environmental situations affect the overall business process marketing operation of Tesco, PESTEL analysis is conducted.

2.3 Assess the significance of stakeholder analysis for Tesco when formulating new strategy

According to Parnell (2016), stakeholder analysis is important process of identifying the usefulness of different key people who pose significant affect on the business operation and marketing planning of the organisation. Stakeholders are of two types, primary stakeholders and secondary stakeholders. Primary stakeholders are directly influence the business process and operation-management process in business, on the other hand, secondary stakeholders are not directly associated with the business but they affect the overall business process of the organisation through their actions and decisions. In case of Tesco, stakeholder analysis will assist the managers and markets to evaluate the needs and interest of customers and clients, based on which they can formulate the business strategies (tescoplc.com, 2018). Employees are the crucial stakeholders of Tesco, so managers also need to consider their interest and decision for taking any business step or conducting any business operation. Through stakeholder’s analysis, Tesco can understand the actual needs and perception of its employee and customer. By improving the salary structure and conducting positive as well as motivating cultural environment, Tesco managers can easily encourage the employee in term of implementing new strategies with success. The higher managers and director of Tesco are also important stakeholders who use the stakeholder analysis in formulating the relevant business strategies as per the company’s needs. Stakeholder’s analysis provides the opportunity to marketers of Tesco in order to analyse the effectiveness government’s decisions and activities under which they can operate their business successfully globally.

2.4 Using the case study and the research information present a new strategy for Tesco.

For competing with competitive as well as changing market, Tesco needs to adopt and implement new strategies. According to Chen and Jermias (2014), for dealing with ever changing customer preference and interest, business needs to reinvent new strategies that will assist the business to adopt itself with the current market trend. In order to grab the competitive advantage as well as overcoming eth economic brain Tesco mangers can take the following steps:

Joint venture can be an effective strategy for Tesco, to develop their business in UK as well as in all over the world. Tesco managers need to analyse the marketing condition as well as business framework of other UK based Retail firm such as Aldi, Lidi and Netto. Aldi is one of the most profitable retail organisations in UK that can be chosen by Tesco for making profitable business alliance.

By increasing the production at the end of 2019, Tesco can met the ever increasing demand of customers in retail market

Improving online selling process with installation of high memory software and application program by the technical team, Tesco can faster their operation as well as sales

By developing new online apps, Tesco marketers can allow customers to access the Tesco websites through their mobile and notebooks

Task 3:

3.1 Analysing the appropriateness of alternative strategies:

Following are the two alternative strategies that are used by Tesco to meet the objectives and goals:

Substantive growth strategy:

Substantive growth strategy assist firm to maintain its high standard in the global competitive market by dealing with ever changing market trend. Substantive growth strategy represents two aspects, vertical and horizontal integration. As stated by Yuliansyahm et al. (2016), under horizontal integration, two or more firm are merged with each other and in case of the vertical integration, the firm itself becomes the sole suppliers as well as distributor or the firm deals with the similar types of markets with similar technologies. In order to fulfil this strategy, Tesco needs to sell its product in different new markets that are full of market opportunities and good customer base. This process will assist the marketers of Tesco to analyse the needs and interest of the new market place through which they can make important changes in their business framework. By implementing organisational decentralisation and diversification strategies, Tesco can improve its business operation and market orientation in order to increase the profit margin and productivity (tescoplc.com, 2018). By making relevant changes in the product and service, Tesco can brings about huge improvement in their work force as well as in their business operation thereby making the business more beneficial. Substantive growth strategy will also assist the Tesco marketers to follows the creative as well as innovative market strategies for the new development market to grab the customer’s attention.

Market entry:

This strategy is based on dealing with the new markets, new customers and new market trend. As stated by Budayan et al. (2015), market entry is not relevant for all types of firm; rather the entry of firm into a new market is based in its ability to cope up with the new market environment. Tesco operates its all over the world successfully. However, their outdated market strategy and consistent business a goal in the overseas market brings about huge business failure. Tesco has failed to operate their business successfully in overseas market such as in Japan and USA (tescoplc.com, 2018). Moreover, the increasing minimum wage level and difficulties in finding labours as well as raw materials in oversees retail market, makes Tesco marketers disappointed about their overseas business expansion. In that case, Tesco marketers and the business advisors needs to conduct proper marker research on the developing new market in India, USA, Japan, China and Europe. As stated by Sieger et al. (2015) market entry can brings about several challenges and market risk for organisation. In case of Tesco, entry in the new retail market in the South Asian Countries, can throw several risk as well as challenges towards organisation. Therefore, it is important for the Tesco marketers to conduct proper standardisation of its product and service in order to meet the demand in the new market. although Tesco has already develops new mobile apps, install high memory software to improve its online marketing process, but it needs better implementation, good technical team and high standard work force in the oversees market to deal with the ever changing demand and interest of the customers.

3.2 Justify the chosen strategy

Market Entry can be one of the important strategies that have both the advantage and disadvantages for Tesco. As stead by Gumusluoglu and Acur (2016), when a company chose a particular country, the purpose behind it is business expansion and successfully deals with the foreign market trend. Tesco has expanded its business in Japan and USA by using its Greenfield strategy for establishing the urban style supermarket. According to Parnell (2016) market entry allows the firm to apply their creativity and innovation in order to implement new strategies to meet the customer demand. In this aspect, this strategy will assist Tesco marketers to come out from their familiar business boundary and deal with entire new market environment thereby shaping as well as improving their business process. On the contrary, Chen and Jermias (2014), dealing with the international market can pose several economic burdens on the firm such as international licensing, exporting, taxation, labour and raw material management. Green Field Strategy that Tesco has implemented in USA and Japan market for opening its franchise stores, can have certain advantages and disadvantages. Advantage is, through this market entry, Tesco marketers can have the opportunities to start with completely new market environment customer demand that will allow the marketers to understand taste as well as preference of eth overseas customers. Moreover, this strategy would also assist marketers to bring about the diversification in their product and service range that will assist them to grab attention of global customer. On the contrary, Kellermanns et al. (2014) argued that, entry into new market would not only allow the marketers to set new product and service according to taste of new customer but also pose huge burden on the marketers to find out relevant labours and efficient staffs to operative this complete new business process. In this aspect the disadvantage for Tesco is, marketers are failed to make the immediate access of completely new business process and market strategies that will suits to the market trend in new market. Moreover, due to development of local retail marketers and domestic retail giant in USA and Japan, Tesco marketers can face difficulties in having cheap raw materials, labours, efficient staffs, technicians and suppliers. On supporting this viewpoint, Yuliansyah et al. (2016) stated that, market entry could enhance the economic burden of firm in terms of setting new objectives and arranging the equipments can techniques to meet these objectives. In this aspect, Tesco marketer needs to arrange their required resources in order to set their business in new market to fasten their service (tescoplc.com, 2018).

Task: 4:

Understanding the implementation of chosen strategy:

4.1 Assessments of the roles and responsibilities of personnel who are involved with strategy implementation

Different persons are responsible for implementing of market entry strategy in Tesco, such as research and development manager, business advisor, production manager, finance manger and human resource manager. Roles and responsibilities of these personnel are important to be evaluated to improve their efficiency in implementing the market entry strategy

Research and development manger:

According to Budayan et al. (2015), for implementing the new market strategy for entering to new market, the first thing that each firm has to do is effective market research on the new business environment. In case of Tesco, it has faced challenges in USA and Japan in terms of implementing the existing policies and business framework. Therefore, Tesco needs efficient research and development mangers that will collect as well as communicate the important information regarding the new market, customers and changing market trend. This manager will analyse the usefulness of the existing policies of Tesco to merge with the new one to run successful business operation in he oversees market. As opined by Chu et al. (2014) market research is not only based on collecting information on eth new market but also it will evaluate the strength and weakness of the firm in order to grab the market opportunities in new market. Research and development manger of Tesco will assist the marketers to find out their drawbacks as well as strength, which are helpful to apply relevant strategies and operations in new market to grab customer attention (tescoplc.com, 2018).

Production manger:

As stated by Olson et al. (2016) in terms of conducting new market entry, product manger play crucial role in assisting the organisation. Product manger in Tesco would provide high quality training and guidance to all the staffs in order to utilise the resources in well-organised manner so that marketers can get easier access to high standard business framework in the new market place. Moreover, product manager will also assist in making proper resource allocation for maintaining proper cost manage and risk assessment process. Product manager will also focus on identifying the risks and issues associated with entry into new market before implementing this strategy (tescoplc.com, 2018).

Finance manager:

For implementing the market entry strategy, firm also needs efficient financial management process that will assist the marketers to make proper cost management technique (Torrent-Sellens, 2015). According to finance manager is crucial staffs of an origination that deals with the financial resources of company in terms of reducing the extra cost and complete the project within the allocated resources. In case of Tesco, for new market entry into the developing overseas market, finance manager would estimate the overall and and additional expenses in the next three and four month. Then finance manage would set the essential financial guidelines as well as overall anticipated cost chart and provide it to the senior managers for implementing the changes in the new marketing framework to grab the optimum success. Moreover, finance manager also look into the taxation, import and export cost in overseas market to reduce the extra spending and maximise the production without increasing the manufacturing cost (tescoplc.com, 2018).

Human resource manager: Human resource manger plays an important role while a firm is going to enter into new marketplace for business expansion. As stated by Dickson and McCord (2016), human resource is on of the most crucial department in any organisation, which deals with hiring the best as well as efficient candidates who fit to the nature of work in the company. As the Tesco is going to implement the market entry strategy, it needs efficient human resources team as well as HR manager. HR manager of Tesco will allocate efficient people in each business activity for dealing with the new market challenges and ever changing customer needs.

4.2 Analyse the resource requirement for implementing new strategy in Tesco

Technology:

Technology is important for assisting a company in terms of developing its business as well as dealing with the different business risk (Jayaram et al. 2014). Through technological innovation, Tesco can make proper market research through the online platform for getting proper knowledge on the current market trend, customer’s preference interest in eth new retail market. Moreover, through installing high memory hardware and software, Tesco is going improve as well as develops it online marketing platform and inventory for running successful business in the new market. In addition to this, by using online platform, Tesco is going to maintain easier connection with suppliers, labours, investors and creditors. Technological implementation will also assist the marketers of Tesco to evaluate the ability and skill of each staffs. Therefore, online communication process will help the Tesco marketers to conduct online conference with the marketers and investors in eth new market to analyse the current trend and actual preference of customers (tescoplc.com, 2018).

Human resource:

Human resource is important aspect in implementing business strategy in a company (Dahlberg et al. 2016). Tesco will use its human resource to appoint different staffs for various business activities to meet the business objectives. Moreover, by hiring efficient staffs, Tesco HR team can improve the efficiency level of the workforce on order to deal with the market challenges and changing needs to customers (tescoplc.com, 2018).

Financial resource:

Financial resource is important any company to implement the desired market strategy, Tesco needs to maintain consistent flow of financial resources in order to run its business smoothly in new market (Morelli, 2018). For financial resources, Tesco is going to make proper business relation with businessperson and investor for having their financial support to run the business in new market. Moreover, Tesco finance manger will also efficiency allocate the fund for each business activity in order to reduce the chances of over spending (tescoplc.com, 2018). Through cost management process, financial manager of Tesco will maintain the manufacturing cost at standard level that will never make any loss to the company even in the new market.

4.3 Evaluating the contribution of SMART target for achieving the strategy implementation in Tesco:

Conclusion:

From the above discussion, it can be concluded that, business strategy are the plans that are set by marketers to meet their organisational objectives. Tesco, the UK based retail giant is also going to implement new business strategies for developing its business and increasing eth market profit. Through market globalisation, Tesco is going to expand its business into the overseas market by implementing proper strategic plan. Moreover, this discussion concludes that, Tesco needs to restructure it resources, and business framework to be prepared for the market challenges in the new market. Moreover, Tesco needs to have the SMART objectives in terms of meeting the organisational target for making proper business expansion.

Reference list:

Belton, P., 2017. Competitive Strategy: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Macat Library.

Bentley-Goode, K.A., Newton, N.J. and Thompson, A.M., 2017. Business strategy, internal control over financial reporting, and audit reporting quality. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 36(4), pp.49-69.

Buckley, P.J., Burton, F. and Mirza, H. eds., 2016. The strategy and organization of international business. Springer.

Dahlberg, T., Hokkanen, P. and Newman, M., 2016. How business strategy and technology impact the role and the tasks of CIOs: An evolutionary model. International Journal of IT/Business Alignment and Governance (IJITBAG), 7(1), pp.1-19.

Dickson, M.A. and McCord, J., 2016. The integrated business strategy of a Central American denim apparel manufacturer. Latin American Journal of Management for Sustainable Development, 3(1), pp.66-79.

Fiorino, D.J. and Bhan, M., 2016. Supply Chain Management as Private Sector Regulation: What does it Mean for Business Strategy and Public Policy?. Business Strategy and the Environment, 25(5), pp.310-322.

Klettner, A., Clarke, T. and Boersma, M., 2014. The governance of corporate sustainability: Empirical insights into the development, leadership and implementation of responsible business strategy. Journal of Business Ethics, 122(1), pp.145-165.

Morelli, C.J., 2018. Business Strategy, Economic Crisis and the Theory of the Firm. In Post-Crash Economics (pp. 47-67). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Shen, L., Zhou, J., Skitmore, M. and Xia, B., 2015. Application of a hybrid Entropy–McKinsey Matrix method in evaluating sustainable urbanization: A China case study. Cities, 42, pp.186-194.

Torquati, B., Scarpa, R., Petrosillo, I., Ligonzo, M.G. and Paffarini, C., 2018. How can consumer science help firms transform their dog (BCG Matrix) products into profitable products?. In Case Studies in the Traditional Food Sector (pp. 255-279).

Executive summary:

There are different business process and functions that are interrelated to one another. Toyota, the excellent Japanese automobile brand, maintains high quality as well as highly complicated business functions as well as a process that are interrelated to one another. Maintenance of proper business processes is based on managing all the business activities in well-organised manner. The assignment will identify the operation plan for Toyota that is conducted by managers to deal with the ever-changing market trend and to make possible useful changes in business activities. Through maintaining proper business activities, Toyota can make proper business mapping process, which not only improves their business framework but also enhance the efficiency level of the workforce. By maintaining the quality management process, Toyota managers can achieve the organisational target through maximisation of the output. Risk assessment framework also assists eth Toyota managers to identify, assess and review the possible risk in the workplace. Moreover, Toyota managers implement the Health and safety guidelines in their work to demonstrate their commitments towards meeting health needs and protect health as well as the wellbeing of staffs. This assignment is going to highlight the interrelation between different business process and activities of Japan-based famous automobile organisation, Toyota. Moreover, this assignment is also going to highlight the mapping process conducted by Toyota for managing its business activities. Moreover, the Total Quality Management report for Toyota will also be represented in this assignment to highlights the quality culture and improvement criteria of Toyota. By representing the health and safety priorities for Toyota staffs, this assignment is going to highlight the risk assessment framework that is conducted by Toyota manager top deal with the different health and safety challenges.

Introduction:

Maintenance of proper business processes is based on managing all the business activities in well-organised manner. For conducting proper management of business activities, an organisation needs to maintain proper interrelationship between the different functions and process. This assignment is going to highlight the interrelation between different business process and activities of Japan-based famous automobile organisation, Toyota. Moreover, this assignment is also going to highlight the mapping process conducted by Toyota for managing its business activities. The assignment will identify the operation plan for Toyota that is conducted by managers to deal with the ever-changing market trend and to make possible useful changes in business activities. Moreover, the Total Quality Management report for Toyota will also be represented in this assignment to highlights the quality culture and improvement criteria of Toyota. By representing the health and safety priorities for Toyota staffs, this assignment is going to highlight the risk assessment framework that is conducted by Toyota manager top deal with the different health and safety challenges.

Task 1: Understanding the importance of business processes to deliver the outcomes based on business objectives and goals:

1.1 Evaluating the interrelationship between the different functions and processes of organisation:

As stated by Crane and Matten (2016) in an organisation, there are different business process and functions that are interrelated to one another. Toyota, the excellent Japanese automobile brand, maintains high quality as well as highly complicated business functions as well as a process that are interrelated to one another. The key processes and business functions of Toyota are as follows:

Organisational structure:

Toyota has hierarchical tall organisational structure, which is interlinked to one another with strong communication, sharing of knowledge, activities and decisions. As stated by Trevino et al. (2016), each organisation has different level of eth organisational structure that are needs to be connected with one another in such as way that they can provide strength to management team for achieving the mission, objectives and goals of the organisation (Möller and Halinen, 2017). Toyota has several structural layers including CEO/MD, board of directors, senior managers, separate departmental managers, general directors, management and recruitment managers, operational managers, operation staffs, sales staffs and supporting team. Toyota management team assures the exchange of information about the business process and activities among all hierarchical staffs to eliminate the communication gaps between them.

Organisational culture:

As stated by Allen et al. (2015), for maintaining the healthy as well as strong relationship between the different business process and activities of an organisation, it is important to maintain the positive as well as motivating organisation culture. Toyota believes in conducting anti-bullying, motivating and positive working environment within the organisation to encourage as well as support the creative skill development of staffs. For conducting this motivating disciplined and positive environment, Toyota follows as well as implements power culture, in which all the business activities are controlled through the dominant central authority. However, sometimes this can leads to development of little bureaucracy in the organisation.

Business process:

Business process are defines the as the marketing functions that are performed by the marketers in systematic way to meet the organisation objectives (Artto et al. 2017). Toyota deals with following business activities and process that assist marketers to reduce the gaps between different hierarchical layers and activities.

Input-Output Model:

This can be referred as the quantitative economic technique representing eth interdependence between eth different branches of an organisation. This model represents the fact that, there is interrelation between the inputs of one sector to eth output of other sectors. Input of on sector can be the output for the other sector. In the case of Toyota, there is tall organisational structure, which is divided into different departments and hierarchy. For example output from the management process in Toyota, is used as input for eth operation management. on the other hand, output from the operation management system is used by eth operational managers of Toyota in order to support different IT activities, financial systems, human resource process and the manufacturing process.

Management process:

Through conducting the strategic management process Toyota managers govern the overall operations and business activities. Toyota marketers always follow the path of developing innovating marketing strategy to maintain the quality of product and provide the value for money to the customers. The management process of Toyota is based on the ‘Toyota Production System’ which assist the management team to maintain strong cooperation and intercommunication between each layer of this company.

Operational process:

Toyota has established the Kaizen strategy, which is associated with continuous improvement of the business activities in order to maintain the product and service quality.

By implementing the Kaizen strategy, Toyota has implemented cross-functional strategy that develops the gradual improvement, continuous business activities and management.

Through operational management process Toyota, marketers have established strong cooperation between the staffs that improve the different parameters such as productivity, quality and competitiveness.

Supporting process:

Through this process Toyota, operation managers can support different operational process that is important for achieving the core values of this company such as IT activities, finance, accounts and human resource.

1.2 Justifying the methodology that is used for mapping processes to the organisational objectives and goals:

As stated by Hammer (2015), Mapping is associated with the process of observing the flow within different marketing process. Business mapping process is key to business improvement by visualising what the organisation does by taking the responsibilities, roles and proper business standard into account. Toyota emphasizes implementing proper business mapping process to analyse as well as improve its current method of working. For conducting this mapping, Toyota has implemented on easeful methodology, Kaizen that assists the marketers to hold the consistent improvement of their business process.

Through this method, Toyota marketers have made interlinking between the core processes of this organisation. These processes are as follows:

Inputs

Outputs

Decision-making

Operational process

Quality management

Risk assessment

In association with the above mentioned financial indicators that are used in Kaizen, some non-financial performance indicators are also used by Toyota marketers to conduct the proper business mapping process. According to Kumar and Yakhlef (2016) through financial indicators, marketers and managers of an organisation are able to measure the financial performance and market profit of that organisation. In the case of Toyota, marketers also emphasize on suing non-financial indicators in evaluating and analysing the impact of these indicators ion the viability of eth organisational process. The non-financial indicators that are used by Toyota during using Kaizen to conduct the business mapping are as follows:

Absence rate

Staffs turn over

Job satisfaction survey

Survey ion the competency

Through implementing Kaizen as the useful methodology in business mapping, Toyota is able to measure the impact of eth environment under which the company is working proactively. Moreover, through this methodology, Toyota can measure the effectiveness and relevance of eth current manufacturing and operation management process in order to active the organisational objectives. Kaizen methodology assists Toyota to make the following analyse through business mapping:

Proactively improve production

Reduce the manufacturing waste

Increase the customer satisfaction

Increase the employee investment

1.3 Evaluating the output of the process as well as quality gateways::

Efficiency and Effectiveness

As opined by Aversano et al. (2016), efficiency can be referred as the ability to perform thing in perfect manner. On the other hand, effectiveness is the broader aspect, which means the extent, or optimum point at which the actual outcome has been achieved for fluffing the desired outcomes. Toyota also emphasizes improving the efficiency level of staffs and management team to implement the effectiveness of business process and activities. For enhancing the efficacy of workforce and increasing the usefulness of its business activities, Toyota has considered different tools such as Kaizen, lean manufacturing and hybrid technology. All these processes will assist Toyota to improve its operational management process and allows the management team to implement innovative business activities to achieve the market goals.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and evaluating Output of the business processes in the production cycle of Toyota

Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is the measurable value that represents that how efficiently a firm can implement its business activities in order to achieve the key business objectives. Toyota uses KPI at multiple levels of its business in terms of achieving its business target and marketing goals (Scherer et al. 2016). In this aspect, the Toyota marketers use Toyota Specific KPI in order to operate the Toyota Production System and Lean management process. Different types of KPI that are used by the Toyota marketers are quantities, qualitative, leading and lagging indicators. These indicators affect the several levels of business process in Toyota. KPI assist the managers to do to improve the project management process by evaluating eth actual cost of work done, percentage of the milestone missed and cost of managing process. KPI also influence the financial performance and human resource performance of Toyota. It also affects the supply-chain management process of Toyota in terms of order fulfillment, early delivery and customer satisfaction.

Quality Gateway and KPI measurements help Toyota to meet its goals and objectives:

According to Buttrick (2018), Quality gateway is referred, as the organizational point through every organization should pass. KPI measurement will assist the Toyota marketers in order to use the quality gateway for evaluating the effectiveness of the business design and strategic implementation. KPI will also help the Toyota marketers to estimate the competition, cost managing the process and deviation of net profit value. Through KPI, the Toyota marketers can measure the employee satisfaction, salary competitiveness ratio and human capital ratio. Moreover, by using this KPI, Toyota marketers also will be to evaluate the effectiveness of eth brand equity, customer lifetime value and market growth

Task 2: Operational Plan

2.1 Operational plan by applying MBO (Management by Objectives) or Planning Hierarchy and Planning Process Models for your own areas of responsibility:

According to Kothari et al. (2015), operational plan of an organization is the systematic process in which the entire business activities are going to be conducted. Toyota managers use Management By Objectives (MBO) which is the comprehensive management system integrating different key managerial activities in systematic process. Toyota managers believe that, by applying MBO process, they will be able to direct the company towards efficient as well as effective achievement of organizational as well as individual objectives. The overall operational planning of Toyota by using MBO is described below

Toyota follows’ six steps of MBO in order to conduct the effective operation plan:

Defining organization goals:

Setting relevant goals and objectives is crucial for development and growth of any organization (Hammer, 2015). Toyota managers set the organizational at very first stage of conducting their operational planning. Goals and objectives will assist eth management team to understand the number of purposes has to be fulfilled to achieve these goals. Toyota also has the prime goal of maintaining eth consistent quality of its product and service and maintains the customer loyalty to provide each value for money to customers.

Defining the employees objectives:

This is the second stage in operating planning by using MBO (Kumar and Yakhlef, 2016). After being assured about the objectives, strategies and the planning premises set for the employee, the manager of Toyota can then proceed to the work. Toyota management team focuses on individual objectives for each team to achieve the comprehensive goals

Continuous monitoring progress and performance:

MBO process assists the line manager to assess them as well as evaluate the performance of the overall organization and each staff. In this step, Toyota managers would monitor the performance as well as progress in the following ways:

By comparing eth performance and using KPI

Using a Zero-based budgeting system

By allowing staffs to deal with challenging task

By preparing the short and long-range objectives

Designing the clear responsibilities and decision-making authorities at the various level

Performance evaluation:

Through this MBO process, Toyota can conduct eth proper performance review for each business activities by making active participation of the concerned manager

Providing feedback

Toyota managers would supplement the continuous feedback by conducting eth formal appraisal meeting. In this process, the superior, as well as subordinate, can easily review the progress towards the organizational goals and objectives.

Performance appraisal:

Through this MBO process, Toyota can managers can conduct the regular review of eth employee performance.

2.2 SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based) objectives relevant to operational plan :

2.3 Implementing appropriate systems for achieving objectives in most efficient way, on time, to budget and meeting standards of quality associated with Toyota

There are several important systems that is associated with achieving eth organizational objectives such as Management Information System (MIS)’, The Quality System’ (QS)’, CRM (Customer Relationship Management)’ and CPA (Critical Path Analysis) (Abad, 2017). Toyota management team uses two important systems among the above system, which are as follows:

Management Information System (MIS)’:

Management Information System or MIS employs the information technology for collecting as well as communicating the all-possible information that an organization or company utilizes its operation (Aversano et al. 2016). Toyota managers follow this system to maintain proper connection between the financial and operation database from different department. Each department or functional are of Toyota has its own information system that produces the operation, financial, strategic and production related database. Through MIS, Toyota managers can maintain proper interrelation between each department for making the proper sharing of all information through the entire organizational structure. By using MIS Toyota maintains proper information sharing and exchanging process through establishing the connection between the following operations:

Process control:

By applying MIS, Toyota managers monitor as well as control the industrial and physical processes such as petroleum processing, metal fabrication, and automobile assembly. Through control system, managers of Toyota can consistently collect database from different functions and exchange it through eth out the entire work channel by applying MIS.

Sales and marketing:

Through MIS, Toyota marketers can deal with the following facts:

Forecasting sales

Tracking as well as compiling the advertising schedule and outlets

Developing product

Managing eth distribution channel

Discount, pricing and promotion

Inventory control:

By applying MIS, Toyota managers can the proper inventory records regarding products, customers, automobile parts, equipment needs and orders. This process allows the Toyota management team to determine the low demand and high demanded automobile products, warehouse products and retail locations

Accounting and finance:

However, MIS Toyota mangers can evaluate the financial database from different franchise stores in the domestic and overseas market. Through this process, managers can set their budget, anticipated the revenue and get knowledge about that oversees taxation rates.

Critical Path Analysis (CPA)

Critical Path Analysis (CPA) is the techniques as well as business process that determine all the important activities that have to be done to complete a task (Den Hond et al. 2016). Through this process, Toyota managers, as well as staffs, can determine the requirements and criteria of any project before starting it. CPA assists eth Toyota management team to detect eth critical as well as non-critical tasks regarding their marketing goals. Through this system, Toyota can make proper risk assessment framework by anticipating eth challenges that can happen during any business activity. Through this CPA, Toyota also can analyze the sequential steps and systematic process that are associated to perform any business function for achieving eth organizational goals.

2.4 Define control and explain the methods used to monitor and control the production process at Toyota. (2.4)

As stated by Vorraber et al. (2018), organisational control process allows the executives of an organisation to track the efficiency of the company in performing the production process. Toyota uses the controlling methods in its framework to determine the areas of concern, strength as well as limitations of staffs and different risk as well as concern associated with each marketing move. Toyota uses three main types of control system which are as follows:

1. Feed-Forward Controls:

This control system is future-oriented and highly preferred by the large corporations to assess the different market challenges (Dyllick and Muff, 2016). Through using this control system, Toyota marketers can anticipate the possible challenges that are associated with changing the market trend in near future. By applying this system, marketers can also determine the actual deviation of organisational performance from eth current standard in the near future. This system will help Toyota marketers to take necessary steps in order to be prepared for dealing with the coming challenges.

2. Concurrent control:’

This system is used when the emergency arises (Kasurinen et al. 2018). Marketers will use this system neither before nor after the emergency. Toyota uses this system when sudden challenges occur in their framework and it cannot be dealt with the pre-set formulas.

3. Feedback control:

Such a control process is based on the result. By using this control system, managers of Toyota can get information about the outcome of any business process. This system is used after the market situation has occurred.

Task 3: Quality Systems Report

3.1 Explaining the theory of ‘Total Quality Management (TQM)’ philosophy by stating how this TQM philosophy can be used to increase quality and efficiency, which creates a quality culture of improvement in Toyota

Quality can be defined as the conditional, perceptual and subjective attitude of people that assist them to perform any task with applying their best effort for meeting the objectives. As stead by Gozman and Currie (2015), the Theory of Total Quality Management demonstrates the management approach that is based on long-term success through maintaining the customer satisfaction. In case of Toyota, marketers, as well as manager, can apply the concept of TQM theory, which will assist them to maintain the quality of their products and service in order to make long terms customer satisfaction. By applying the Total Quality Management concept, marketers of Toyota can follow the eight principles that will assist them to maintain high quality of their production.

Customer focused aspect of the Total Quality Management process will assist Toyota marketers to focus on customer needs and interest to provide value for each money spend by customers on Toyota’s product

Total employee involvement is important approach through which Toyota can motivate its employee to put their best effort in achieving the common goal of organisation. this will develop skill and knowledge of staffs regarding improve the product and service quality

Process-centred system will assist Toyota marketers to focus on process thinking to determine the requirement and criteria of each project

Integrated system is important part of TQM, which assists the Toyota managers to understand the mission, vision and goals of company. Through this process, Toyota’s management team can improve their overall business framework

Strategic and systematic approach will assist Toyota marketers to complete the task in systematic process to achieve the gaols

Continual improvement will assist the Toyota marketers to maintain consistent business growth and consistent quality of a product as well as service

Fast basic decision-making process will help Toyota marketers to make quick solutions to any market challenges

Communication is important to the process of Total Quality Management that will assist the Toyota manager to maintain proper coordination with staffs as well as with the customer

3.2 Describe how Toyota promotes and implements a Total Quality Management culture in its businesses.

Total Quality Management process is important for organisation to maintain high quality of product and service for strengthens the long-term customer base (Balet et al. 2016). Toyota would implement this TQM system in their organisational culture by following various principles to monitor its success, which are as follows:

By conducting customer focused approach

Maintaining total employee involvement

Maintaining eth integrated system

Conducting process centred system

Taking Strategic and systematic approach

Through this TQM process, Toyota can implement different Quality Management System such as ISO 9000, EN 29000 standard and Quality Circle (QC).

Quality Management System:

As stead by Pinkse and Gasbarro (2016), Quality Management System is the formalised system that is associated with documentation of the procedures, processes and responsibilities for achieving the quality objectives and policies. Toyota is going to implement the following QMS that will assist eth managers to maintain proper quality of the entire product and service.

ISO 9000:2015

It is international quality standard of quality. Toyota uses it in its business framework to assure the customer about its quality and usefulness of its product. This process deals with different aspects such as

Improving the progress

Lowering the cost

Engaging staff

Facilitating as well as identifying eth training opportunities

Quality Circle (QC)

This is the participative managing technique that Toyota uses within its framework to allow staffs worn in small team voluntarily to solve the performance and quality related issues

3.3 Recommend improvements which align Toyota’s objectives and goals(3.3)

The recommendations for Toyota are:

Toyota marketers should take customer-centered approach will assist them to understand what the customer actually want from them. This process will assist eth staffs to put their effort in right place to provide the quality and service that customers actually needs.

Toyota managers should implement Process-centered system, which will help them to understand the criteria and requirement of each project. This process will enhance their knowledge about how to maintain eth product quality by fulfilling eth requirement of the project.

Toyota marketers should conduct the strategic and systematic approach that will help them to complete each project in a systematic manner which is important for maintaining consistency in product quality.

Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)’:

Toyota marketers should apply this process, which would help them to focus on analysing the effectiveness of workflow, and business process. Through this process, marketers can understand the needs and challenges associated with each market approach.

3.4 Report on the wider implications of proposed changes within Toyota Company:

All the above business activities will affect eth business framework of Toyota. The process of Total Quality Management, Quality Management System and Quality Circle would assist Toyota marketers to improve its marketing framework in order to meet the project criteria. Customer focused aspect of the Total Quality Management process will assist Toyota marketers to focus on customer needs and interest to provide value for each money spend by customers on Toyota’s product Total employee involvement is important to approach through which Toyota can motivate its employee to put their best effort in achieving the common goal of organisation. this will develop skill and knowledge of staffs regarding improving the product and service quality Through this process, Toyota marketers can make proper changes in its quality management framework, which not only satisfy customer with a good quality product but also improve risk assessment and quality management framework of Toyota.

Task 4:

4.1: Carry out risk assessments as required by legislation, regulation and organisational requirements, ensuring appropriate action is taken in the context of your area or any department at Toyota:

Under the guidelines of Health & Safety at Work 1974, risk assessment is the process of identifying, assessing and eliminating the possible risk at the workplace for ensuring the health protection and safety of all staffs (Ross, 2018.). In the case of Toyota, risk assessment is important to ensure the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of each staff. Through risk assessment process Toyota, managers determine the type and occurrence site of each possible risk, which will assist them to prepare their staffs for dealing with future risk or occupational hazards.

Toyota has implemented this risk assessment framework through three steps:

Identifying the risk:

In this process, Toyota manager will determine the possible reason, outcomes and occurrence site of the risk. Through this process, the manager can identify different risk in the operational area, manufacturing area and factory.

Assessing the risk:

Through this process, the operational manager of Toyota measures the severity and possible outcomes of each risk. The assessment process will assist managers to take proper initiative for eliminative the future possibilities of such risks.

Record and review the risk:

Through this process, operational team would form an online record of all the risks that have identified during the risk assessment process. After making the records, the mangers of Toyota would evaluate the outcomes, possibilities of happening in the near future of these risks.

Impact of risk assessment process:

Risk assessment process assists Toyota manager to identify, review and eliminate different types of risks in the workplace.

This process will also help the managers to train the staffs in combating any sudden risk

Through risk assessment process Toyota, managers can strengthen their quality management framework that enhances their productivity.

Through risk assessment, Toyota can protect the health and well-being of its staffs

4.2: Consider health and safety legislation, policies and procedures

a) A new member of staff has joined into Toyota:

In the case of a newly appointed employee in Toyota Derby, the employer would inform the staff about health and safety-related rules and regulations along with the company regulation. The employee and employers would are that they will work carefully to eliminate the risk of occupational hazards under the guidelines of Health & Safety at Work 1974 (Loeppke et al. 2015). Moreover, both the employee and employers would work for maintaining the convenience, welfare, and safety standard of h organisation under the guidelines of the Factories Act 1961. Employer of Toyota would train the employee in proper way to assist him or her to be protected from any types of accidents and injuries. Under the guidelines of Workplace Fire Safety (Land Rover 2010), both the employee and the newly appointed staffs of Toyota would work very carefully while working in factory or dealing with flames, fireworks in the manufacturing area.

b) A new telephone system has been installed in your organisation:

Different types of hazards are associated with the new set up telephone system in any organisation. Toyota manager new focuses on eth following fact to determine the possible hazards:

Checking the weather there is a lack of encryption

Analysing whether the telephone system has any password protection to safeguard the confidential file

Assessing the risk of interception

Evaluating the loss of network and database through the telephonic device

Analysing whether the telephonic system can be used to access the cloud database

Identify whether there are any abnormalities in eth multiple access points of the telephone

Checking the possibilities of data hacking through eth telephonic system

c) Dangerous waste product needs to be disposed of by your selected company /organisation.

Management of waste product is important in any organisation for maintaining the health and safety in that organisation. Toyota Derby has a large manufacturing area, in which there are huge amount of waste products and garbage are produced as the waste product. Under the guidelines of Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH, 2002), operational manager of Toyota needs to control the exposure of staffs to hazardous substances. In this aspect, the waste products that are highly harmful to staffs need to be recycled in the innovative process. moreover, the operational manager of Toyota also needs to maintain the hygiene and freshness in the workplace to assure the health and safety of staffs.

4.3 Review the health and safety policy and procedures of the chosen business in a systematic manner to ensure they are effective and compliant with legislation

For maintaining the Health and safety policies in the workplace, organisational personnel need to implement the guidelines of different health and safety act in their way of working as well as in the organisational framework (Shea et al. 2016). Toyota marketers, as well as managers, have systematically implemented the health and safety policies in their work process to ensure the optimum health security and safety of all staffs.

The way managers of Toyota incorporating the health and safety system by implementing the approved codes of practice, it would benefit eth entire company to frame the healthy as well as the positive workplace. By following the guidelines of Health and Safety Act (1974), all the managers in the different department of Toyota have formed highly health conscious and positive workplace, in which each staff is well trained to deal with different health and safety priorities in the workplace.

In terms of identifying the hazards and risk in the workplace, managers of Toyota follow the guidelines of factory Act (1961) and factory Act (18330. Under these acts, the managers would cooperate with all staffs of their individual department to provide them with mental, psychological and emotional protection and support. they work under the Factory Act (1961) to assure the immediate elimination of any type of physical, emotional and psychological abuse in the workplace. Under the Fata Accident Act (1976), managers of Toyota would assure that the company has met all the safety needs of staffs to eliminate the risk of sudden accidents, injuries of eth staffs.

A common hazard in Toyota that is identified:

In the operational are of Toyota, an operational manager has identified on risk, which is poor condition of manufacturing machinery which is used in shifting eth automobile parts from one place to another. In this aspect, the operation manager needs to collect the proper information about the mechanical condition and the way it can affect the entire manufacturing process. Then the operational manager would conduct immediate sharing of this information to all the hierarchy level of this company for resolving the problem.

4.4 Carry out the practical application of health and safety policies and procedures for Toyota

Health and safety policies:

Health and safety policies and procedures deal with maintaining healthy practices in workplace to assure the proper mental, physical, emotional wellbeing of staffs (Kunyk et al. 2016). Toyota Derby is one of the famous automobile companies in the UK, which has implemented the health and safety policies in its working framework to protect its staffs from any type of mental, physical and emotional abuse within the workplace.

Different types of health and safety policies in the case of Toyota:

UK government to protect the health and well-being of employee and employers at the workplace formulates several health and safety policies (Cunningham et al. 2014). Under Health & Safety at Work 1974, Toyota managers and higher officials make regular checking of health and safety of each staff. By conducting weekly meeting about the health safety framework of the organisation, managers of Toyota collect the possible knowledge about health needs staffs and possible health risk that can happen during working. Under Workplace Fire Safety (Land Rover 2010), operational manager and manufacturing officials of Toyota needs to train the labours and fire workers about working carefully work with fire and other explosive substances. Under the guidelines of Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH, 2002), managers of Toyota would assure the staffs to eliminate the harmful exposure to the hazardous substances that can cause health issue.

Importance of Health and Safety policies in Organisation:

Organisation needs to implement health and safety policies in their business framework to deal with the different health and safety aspects. The implementation of health and safety policies will assist marketers in various aspects, which are as follows:

Reduce the health and safety risk in the workplace

Assure that no staff deals with the abuse, discrimination and biases

Identify the health and safety hazards

Assess the health hazard to form viable process of eradicating them

Provide the staffs with proper protection of mental, physical and emotional wellbeing

Protect the employer and employees from any sudden injuries, accidents and health issues

Reduce the exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace

Practical application of health and safety policies

Management’s commitments:

Organisational officials can make the practical implementation of Health and Safety Policies to demonstrate the management’s proper commitments to the employee’s health and safety (Dollard et al. 2017). By applying these policies in the workplace, managers and employers of Toyota would represent that they have addressed the health safety needs of the staffs and taken a viable option to meet them.

Maintain hygiene:

Managerial people of Toyota use this Health and safety policy in workplace to maintain proper clean and hygiene throughout every area of the workplace. The staffs are advised to put all the objects, automobile parts and equipment into definite area. By this process, the manager will assure that no staffs get hurt from any object in the manufacturing area. Lacking in storage can be other important hazards in the workplace. For reducing this risk, operational team of Toyota make a large storage room for shifting the waste material or objects.

Proper manual handling proper:

This process is one of the important examples of Health and safety application in the workplace (Ross, 2018). Functional managers and operational team of Toyota emphasize of maintaining good manual handling process. Labours and staffs take proper care while picking heavy objects. Staffs are well trained in manual handling which avoids the risk of injuries or accidents. Toyota Staffs always lift all the boxed carefully to eliminate the chances of injuring their hand or face. Toyota operational and function manage always check that staffs are dealing with such a weight that is relevant to their strength and physical ability.

Making notes of the emergency items:

This process is one of the important practical implementations of Health and Safety Policies. Toyota managers train all the executives in each department to know about all the emergency objects and remedies that are kept in the workplace. Staffs know where the First-aid box is kept and the way they use it during emergency.

Correcting the posture:

Good posture at the workplace is important for eliminating different health risk. The higher official of Toyota would train the staffs in terms of correcting their gesture and posture. This will help staffs to monitor arm length and leg position while dealing with automobile products and heavy machinery. Staffs of Toyota would also know how they position their elbow, hand and wrist while picking up different automobile parts. Therefore this process will improve the posture of staffs to protect them from any kind of risk and health and hazards.

Minimise the eye fatigue:

Provide frequent break to the staffs working in the manufacturing area Relaxation period for staffs in the operation area Reduce the brightness Correct the alignment of screen and machinery with eye

Summary:

Through the above discussion, it can be stated that health and safety policies are important need for every workplace. Through implementing the policies, Toyota has assured its commitment towards meeting the health and safety needs of its staffs. Through the practical implementation of health and safety policies, Toyota managers would be able to:

Reduce the health risk of staffs Provide all staffs with a healthy as well as positive workplace Eliminate the risk of abuse and discrimination in the workplace Reduce chances of sudden injuries and accident during work

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it can be concluded that managing business activity is associated with maintaining a strong interrelationship between the different functional areas within the organisation. Through maintaining proper business activities, Toyota can make proper business mapping process, which not only improves their business framework but also enhance the efficiency level of the workforce. By maintaining the quality management process, Toyota managers can achieve the organisational target through maximisation of the output. Risk assessment framework also assists eth Toyota managers to identify, assess and review the possible risk in the workplace. Moreover, Toyota managers implement the Health and safety guidelines in their work to demonstrate their commitments towards meeting health needs and protect health as well as the wellbeing of staffs.

Reference list:

Abad, V., 2017. Case Study: Managing Business Growth from the Bottom Up. The Economics of Therapy: Caring for Clients, Colleagues, Commissioners and Cash-Flow in the Creative Arts Therapies, p.180.

Allen, D., Lee, Y.T. and Reiche, S., 2015. Global work in the multinational enterprise: New avenues and challenges for strategically managing human capital across borders. Journal of Management, 41(7), pp.2032-2035.

Aversano, L., Grasso, C. and Tortorella, M., 2016. Managing the alignment between business processes and software systems. Information and Software Technology, 72, pp.171-188.

Barron, A., Pereda, A. and Stacey, S., 2017. Exploring the performance of government affairs subsidiaries: A study of organisation design and the social capital of European government affairs managers at Toyota Motor Europe and Hyundai Motor Company in Brussels. Journal of World Business, 52(2), pp.184-196.

Clarke, S., Probst, T.M., Guldenmund, F.W. and Passmore, J., 2015. The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of occupational safety and workplace health. John Wiley & Sons.

Dollard, M.F., Dormann, C., Tuckey, M.R. and Escartín, J., 2017. Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) and enacted PSC for workplace bullying and psychological health problem reduction. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 26(6), pp.844-857.

Gozman, D. and Currie, W., 2015, January. Managing governance, risk, and compliance for post-crisis regulatory change: A model of IS capabilities for financial organizations. In System Sciences (HICSS), 2015 48th Hawaii International Conference on (pp. 4661-4670). IEEE.

Ivey, G.W., Blanc, J.R.S., Michaud, K. and Dobreva‐Martinova, T., 2018. A Measure and Model of Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace that Reflects Canada's National Standard. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences/Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l'Administration.

Kumar, N. and Yakhlef, A., 2016. Managing business-to-business relationships under conditions of employee attrition: A transparency approach. Industrial Marketing Management, 56, pp.143-155.

Lay, A.M., Saunders, R., Lifshen, M., Breslin, C., LaMontagne, A., Tompa, E. and Smith, P., 2016. Individual, occupational, and workplace correlates of occupational health and safety vulnerability in a sample of Canadian workers. American journal of industrial medicine, 59(2), pp.119-128.

Möller, K. and Halinen, A., 2017. Managing business and innovation networks—from strategic nets to business fields and ecosystems. Industrial Marketing Management, 67, pp.5-22.

Phan, P., Siegel, D.S. and Wright, M., 2016. Science parks and incubators: observations, synthesis and future research. In TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUSINESS INCUBATION: Theory• Practice• Lessons Learned (pp. 249-272).

Preibisch, K. and Otero, G., 2014. Does Citizenship Status Matter in C anadian Agriculture? Workplace Health and Safety for Migrant and Immigrant Laborers. Rural Sociology, 79(2), pp.174-199.

Shea, T., De Cieri, H., Donohue, R., Cooper, B. and Sheehan, C., 2016. Leading indicators of occupational health and safety: An employee and workplace level validation study. Safety science, 85, pp.293-304.

Van Halderen, M.D., Bhatt, M., Berens, G.A., Brown, T.J. and Van Riel, C.B., 2016. Managing impressions in the face of rising stakeholder pressures: Examining oil companies’ shifting stances in the climate change debate. Journal of business ethics, 133(3), pp.567-582.

Zerfass, A., Verčič, D. and Wiesenberg, M., 2016. Managing CEO communication and positioning: A cross-national study among corporate communication leaders. Journal of communication management, 20(1), pp.37-55.

Introduction

The development of any business sector is incumbent on the quality of available data, information and knowledge based communication. The corresponding study undertaking would be delving intothe entire range of differentiating decisional implications which are directly related the efforts of improvement of both internal and external communication methods of a specific business organisation and the related business activities. The existing information based communication will be analysed alongside the sources from which these could be availed to infuse greater efficacy in the decision formulation process. The report will recognize the internal as well as the external stakeholders of and ponder over the formulation processes of the financially less demandingcommunication processes and channelson behalf of the selected business entity of Zara, UK.Additionally, the procedural strategies will be analysed as well for the purpose of improvement of thecommunication as well as the co-ordination between the commercial partners Zara, UK. The present structure of Zara,UK, would be as well evaluated to decide the conceivable changes to upgrade existing information management and communication mechanisms.The individual arrangements, which could be necessary to be managed for the purpose of development of personal communication enhancement plans,would be assessed and contrived as well to improve the abilities related to communicate in the most optimised and extensive manner within the framework of business operations. The arrangement of information of Zara, UK will be consistently pondered about to identify the conceivable changes within such processes as well as implementation of techniques which could reinforce the betterment prospects of the existing systematic organisational communication at the company under consideration. In this context, Zara could be identified as one of the most profit earning Spanish group of clothing retail operators and this is also one of the most acknowledged brands in fashion attire within Europe.

TASK 1

Understand how to assess information and knowledge needs

The necessity and significance of the availability of effective and relevant as well as accurate information as well as in depth knowledge regarding the dynamic market conditions could be considered to be invaluable regarding the planning purpose of Zara, UK for the objective of penetration of the existing domestic market at the United Kingdom as well as establishment of the brand identity related with Zara SA within this market segment. In this context, the senior management and administrative personnel of Zara, UK, have to consistently undertake various decisions for the constitution of the plan and the manifestation of the planned procedures into actuation.This requires, according to Rowley and Hartley (2017), the collection and utilisation of the information from the tactical, operational as well as strategic segments of the managerial and administrative structure along with the supplementary information gathering and application of the same from mostly explicit as well as tacit sources. This process is also indicative of the information and knowledge utilisation through consideration of the different factors such as the business laws of the United Kingdom, development of the human resources through proper selection and recruitment as well as through formulation of productive affiliations such as availing assistance from information and communication development experts. Ultimately, the internal as well as external information sources for the purpose of designing the plan could be vital regarding the sales figure speculation, customer record management, evaluation of the financial performance of the launched products as well as the balancing of profit and expenditures in a consistent manner.

1.1 Discuss the range of decisions to be taken

The development and administration of organisational management could be envisaged to be directly incumbent upon the quality of basic leadership as well as the primary strength of the managerial segments related to Zara, UK. The administration of organisational managerial responsibilities requires extensive and specific decisional capabilities to deal with the business contingencies and market based operational liabilities and additionally to utilise favourable circumstances which could provide better opportunities regarding development of sales prospects. Strategic decisions could be considered to be one of the most significant aspects in this regard.The senior most managerial as well as administrative personnel of Zara formulate the decisions regarding the methodologies which could be applied within the prevailing market environment of the United Kingdom. Market based business operational targets are characterized to be achievedat the primary levels of the operations in association with the desired business objectives which are necessary for the company to accomplish so that the necessary competitive advantage and sales promotional opportunities could be achieved. The vital choices regarding the involved decisions could be considered to be the strategic application of the devised tactical methods of product performance enhancement within the domestic market based sales operations at the United Kingdom. Thus, Pearlson, Saunders and Galletta (2016) suggests that the strategic decisions which are necessary to be undertaken by the Zara managerial personnel need to be clearly definitive towards the aims and objectives of the company within the targeted market scenario of the UK.Tactical decision formulation could be considered to be the next element in the overarching structure of business decisions which could involve long term planning and associated business objectives. As per the observations of Loebbecke, van Fenema and Powell (2016), the related advantages for Zara, UK may incorporate the conceivable outcomes of variability in techniques. For strategic decision formulation as well as tactical conceptual developments, the administration management tier of the organisations under consideration needs to effectively analyse the existing practices and tactical applications regarding the considerations of profit margin incurrence and minimisation of cost structures to the utmost extent. This could directly require the element of communication development to be assisted continuously through the available tools and instruments which could prove to be beneficial as well as effective in the achievement of long term objectives envisioned by the mission statement of the Zara, UK.Operational decisions could constitute the third most significant element regarding the decisional implications and sphere of significance on behalf of Zara. The consecutive and persistent market based business operations and activities are controlled by the managerial administration Zara to achieve the intended targets within the quantifiable time and the most minimised and curtailed cost structure. The operational leadership based activities and resource management are considered as the most vital constituents of business policy implementation. The methods and structures of communication and procedures to deal with the business personnel and the clients requires the development of ardently steady conduct of professional customer management related behavioursand this is also the case with Zara at UK.

1.2 Examine the information and knowledge needed to ensure effective decision taking

The provisioning of efficacious and constructive decision formulation processes could only be realised into reality through the acquisition of credible information from multiplicity of sources so that each and every factor associated with the market operations of the concerned organisation under consideration could be categorised and integrated within the constitution of the strategic operational plan involving the objective of market penetration as the core element of such initiatives. This could be further analysed from the perspective of the managerial personnel of Zara regarding the entire spectrum of different implications of organisational and operational information. The various market sectors which constitute the apparel and readymade garment industry, including that of the internal commercial precincts of the UK, could be characterised to be hyper competitive as well as dynamically unpredictable. As per the observations of Stanton and Baber (2017), it is thus essential for any organisation such as that of Zara, to calculate and analyse the competitive advantage garnering methods and the associated strategies which could provide the organisation better visibility and exposure to the existing and prospective customer segments at the internal markets of the United Kingdom. This could lead to, as per the observations of Galliers and Leidner (2014), better product promotional strategy development and sustainability achievement regarding the market penetration efforts of the organisation under consideration. The ability to learn of the actual nature of the capabilities and shortcomings as well as strategic considerations of the forthcoming market competitors as well as contenders is important to for Zara management so that qualitative decisions could be formulated. The inclinations of the customers could have long term influence on the management and business administration mechanism of Zara. The organisation needs to decide the best possible manner through which requests from the customers and clients could be realised and necessities alongside existing product preference patterns from the customers in apparel and garment based merchandises could be fulfilled. The business administration of Zara at UK generally has to undertake the strategic policy formulation with the objective that markets can be accessed and then operated in successfully. The purchasing intensity of various client segments alongside the desired quality should be outlined in the most effective manner and this could vital regarding the critical necessity to determine the best possible adaptability possibilities as per the conditionalities of business which could be experienced by Zara at the internal markets of UK. The customer relationship management apparatus at the company under consideration could be utilised as the instrument through which the required information regarding market trends and other obligations, could be generated through advantageous communication systems. The targeted market segments could be considered as indicative of the patterns and trends which could exemplify the choices and preferences of the customers. This information could assist Zara in the development of advertisements which could better serve the customers and clients and to get the market considerations which could be effective in infusing better quality in the product range which Zara could offer to the British customers as well as the uniqueness of purchase experience. Prudent moves and accessibility of relevant information for business handling related data are useful to add value to the undertaken decisions.

1.3 Assess internal and external sources of information and understanding

Sources based on the internal operational structures delineate the various different sources which could be considered to be accessible inside the business organisation under considerationand these could ultimately assist the process of strategic decision formulation concerning the attempts to establish and expand the operational base and the customer segment possession by Zara, UK. The internal and specific information about the business operations in particular undertakings as well as the best benefits which could be derived from sales and promotions of products as well as from acquisitions and new market penetration operational successes could be augmented with feedbacks from clients including those of criticisms associated with the products and services, asset and resource utilisation reports and ultimately information on stakeholders and employee interest management. Such sources could then be utilized to acquire the required data and comprehension for basic business leadership development within Zara. The budgetary records and information of hierarchical operations at the targeted market segments are valuable to provide capability enhancement incentives to the existing human resources within the business operational folds of the company under consideration. These could as well involve the weekly and quarterly reports as well as balance and performance sheets containing the summary of organisational efforts invested by Zara. This could lead towards betterment of decision formulation activities which are observed at Zara. As per the observations of Schnackenberg and Tomlinson (2016), external sources of information could become central to this process from multiple perspectives. This could involve multiple websites and social media platforms hosted on the Internet which could be particularly related to UK specific content and these could be utilized to better study the markets and targeted clients. The company under consideration could likewise undertake specific surveys through availing the previously formulated research initiatives and scholarly journals to properly ascertain the best possible assumptions regarding the economic situations which could assist the organisation in formulating accurate measurements of product development. Additionally the online surveys and monitoring the web applications of the market rivals as well as the perusal through the mainstream electronic and print media can be utilized to acquire the necessary information regarding the conditions associated with the customer preferences and the measures of experiences of the customers regarding the products and services offered by the company under consideration in this study. Governmental administrative websites can furnish data about the necessary leadership tenets concerning the business operations development and legal implications of various undertaken strategic as well as tactical initiatives and approaches. On the other hand, the social networking sites could form the bedrock regarding the sources of information concerning the extent of success which could be associated with the new business decisions. The governmental rules and regulations as well as the mandates formulated under different legal commercial policies could be as well obtained from the social media based platforms since, through such modes of communication, any business organisation such as Zara could establish direct contact with the customers and could learn from them through successful communication processes.

1.4 Justify recommendations for improvement

As per the research of Bryson (2016), Zara could be identified to be in the process of building the coveted brand image within the targeted business segments and market spheres such as that of the United Kingdom with the deliberate offerings of qualitative products and services to the selected customer bases. Still, the clientele could be thought to be of less exhibitive of loyalty towards the brand image of Zara since, as per the observations of Laudon and Laudon (2016), certain shortcomings in proper information exchange and communication based operations have led to inappropriate client and customer profile formulation. Zara at UK could utilize the latest tools and processes regarding the data mining techniques and could as well employ specific software based analytical frameworks with the objective to gather input from the market research as well as from client profile transformation monitoring through online operations. The derived data can then be gathered and arranged for application in forthcoming business administration based decisions and policy formulation. Likewise, the experiences of the clients regarding the products and services received from Zara can be improved by proceeding onward with business to customer relationship improvement. As per the observations of Becerra-Fernandez and Sabherwal (2014), the proposed techniques of data and information mining and evaluation framework could be completely based on monitoring and deriving information from the Internet hosted platforms such as official websites of the concerned company and social media sites. This could be an effective format for progression towards the integration of the preferences of customers regarding the existing product offerings of Zara. The policy and communication management section of the company can upgrade the quality of the existing products as well as the products and services which could be under development through effectively communicating the derived information from the aforementioned sources, both direct and indirect in nature and could thus contribute in the enhancement of the efficacy of the determined business policies so that the financial limitations of the customers could be also taken under consideration. This could lead to achievement of the coveted success and advantage margins related to the market based operations undertaken by the concerned company, Zara UK. The distribution of data and information has to be apportioned through the application of mostly the electronic communication processes and applications such as the high speed Internet based data and file transfer protocols and the utilisation of the company specific Intranets the servers of which could be hosted internally and this could lead to curtailment of the lead congestion scenarios regarding vital data and information transfers. Post sales relationship management has to be also related with such efforts since the goal of any business organisation has to be that the customers can confide in the services of the respective organisation.

TASK 2

Be able to create strategies to increase personal networking to widen involvement in the decision making process

From the perspective of the Assistant Manager for the Customer Services in one of the impending stores of Zara at the Greater London region, the prospects of providing the most optimised sales promotional networking solutions to the existing operational framework could be considered to be the first and the most significant priority. In this context, the factors associated with the intended designing of the strategic customer and networking services concerning the new launches of the products and services, are multifarious in both nature and scope since this strategy is directly reflective of the necessity to convince the entire spectrum of stakeholders within the ascertained sector who could be invariably influenced by the performance of such effort based structural investments of communicative sales promotion. In this respect, three specific operation initiatives are necessary to be integrated within the functional portfolio of plan of action through which the stakeholders could be provided the actual comprehension of the strategic networking consideration which the proposed store of Zara could utilise in the near future regarding the formulation of decisions related with the market based operations. The first of these three operational initiatives could be ascertained in the manner of identification of a pre-specified number of stakeholders, the second initiative would be indicative of the considerations related with the selection of the most optimised and cost effective as well as the appropriate avenues of communication through which the proper and personalised contact could be established with these stakeholders, at both the individual as well as the collective levels and, finally, the third initiative is representative of the efforts, from the managerial designation, towards ensuring that the product launch invitees could be kept engrossed and enthralled with enthusiasm and interest regarding the perceptions of the product launch. One additional aspect which has to be assured in this respect is the priority based representation of the interests of these stakeholders within the general courses of occurrences regarding the occasion of the product launch. This final aspect could be managed through the provisioning of the managerial agenda based information to these stakeholders as well as making the stakeholders aware about the financial and commercial utility based prospects of the launched products.

Identify stakeholders for a decision-making process

The primary procedure of decision formulation at Zara has to include the stakeholders, both the internal as well as the external ones with the objective that proper data sharing and conveying the same comprehensively, can be accomplished to support the process of sustaining activities of market operations and the improvement of the business handling within the targeted market segments of Zara. Customers form the basis of the existing and preferred clientele of the company and new product launches are always significant in this respect. This augurs in the necessity to provide the details to the customers since they are to become the essential stakeholders in the business progression perspectives of the of the product and services offerings of Zara at UK. This is also the reason that interest of the stakeholders should be advanced for the purpose of fostering brand loyalty perceptions amongst the customers, both the prospective and the existing ones. This is, according to Schmitt (2017), one of the most critical elements of perception management which has to be performed by the concerned company. Customers, who are also stakeholders, help to perceive the viability of new and existing products and services with their decisions related to purchasing such offerings. Governments could be determined to be the next most essential stakeholders who profoundly influence and shape the operational directions of the business progression initiatives undertaken by companies such as Zara within the countries such as the United Kingdom. The legal structure formulated to exert control over commercial activity at UK, involving business procedures and employee relations additionally influence the process of decision formulation within the business organisations. The policies and strategies, which could be formulated by the administrative and policy formulation departments of the company under consideration, to ensure the desired market performance of the envisaged products and services, are thus considerately influenced by the standing regulations stipulated by the government of the national sphere where the company could have intended to operate. Shareholders and Investors are to be considered as the most significant financial stakeholders of any business organisation. As per the research of Hislop, Bosua and Helms (2018), misalignment of standards of investors with the mission and vision of the business organisation could adversely influences the processes of decision formulation within the working architecture of any commercial entity such as that of Zara. The commitment of shareholders and investors regarding investment of funds could spell the difference between the ability of the respective business organisation to undertake effective pursuits of new market penetration and that of consistently having to experience hindrances in the process of exploring new market horizons. The meeting of new demands and expectations of quality is vital concerning the nature of shareholders and investors since they have the most demanding stakes in the business performance measure of the company under consideration. This acts as a definitive element to shape the corporate policy formulation process at Zara. Working personnel such as the employees form the human resources for Zara who could be perfectly placed to enable the most efficacious knowledge management and information utilisation within the working fold of the company. In this manner, the company management has to involve the key work representatives in the promotion of new products with the objective that they additionally can persuade themselves to enhance their motivation and thus could meet their personal developmental as well as work efficacy related objectives as well. The market based approach of competitors and contenders to effectively take over the market with particular and methodical procedures can be one of the most significant elements which could impeded and influence the business progression prospects of Zara at UK. Thus, it depends upon Zara to formulate effective contingency plans to deal with significant market segment possession strategic initiatives undertaken by the closest market rivals within the domestic market conditions of the UK.

2.2 Make contact with those identified and develop businessrelationships

Keeping in mind the end goal to contact the stakeholders in the intended business, Zara can utilize several practical components which could be ascertained to be additionally reliable and have much more swiftness regarding time consumptions limits than customary communication methods. According to Park and Lee (2014), it is infinitely more beneficial to utilise electronic mail systems rather to utilise postage mails. This process could be contended to be financially much less demanding on the company under consideration. Such mails would be effective to send personal invitations to the individual stakeholders and business partners of Zara UK. Email could be utilised to communicate with the particular personnel within the least possible time and cost limits with the actual objective that the information related with the key attributes of the new product such as various features, pricing benchmarks and the availability and sustainability potential can be communicated with the stakeholders in the most clarified manner. Electronic mail utilisation is likewise a judicious attempt to accomplish individual consideration towards the business organisation. The official website of Zara alongside numerous social media sites can be utilized to inform the stakeholders of the organisation. The customers and the employees can be provided with the necessary impetus and the motivation through commercials advertisements so that they could be persuaded to attend the product launch process. In this process, as per the observations of Pugh (2016), the developed digital measures which could be presented to the potential and interested customers who could be searching such websites to know about the products and services of Zara, could be modified and programmed in the manner in which the explicit web content could adjust itself as per the browsing preferences of the searcher. Thus, better profiling could be generated and the personalised recommendations and information updates could be generated regarding the identification of the preference trend of the searchers.

2.3 Involve those identified in the decision making as appropriate

The investment of resources from different partners and stakeholders can be accomplished with the utilization of online apparatuses. The specified tools could be video conferencing, mailing through electronic or print based medium, informing through automated message generation portals and social media based communication correspondence. These can be utilized to garner the conviction of the stakeholders such as customers, working personnel and other business accomplices. Websites and online applications are utilized in businesses to acquire the contemplations and interests of stakeholders and business partners. The most successful method to decide the policy based conclusions of market penetration strategies such as the launch of new products or services could be envisaged through the judicious utilisation of social media based information. The techniques involve product promotion initiatives. Thus, according to Chorafas (2016), the management of Zara could benefit from the appropriate utilisation of the instruments and techniques related to the information technology based applications which could be accessed through purchasing them in open market operations. The feedbacks and suggestions from customers and clients could be invaluably generated through the application of such IT based solutions. The resources, which are internally associated with the business operations of Zara, such as employees and shareholders, are necessary to be involved within this specific occasion of product launch so as to ensure that the most extensive and carefully prepared information regarding the attributes of the product could be communicated to such stakeholders in a first hand manner. The aspects of individual communication based correspondence and business solicitations are to be considered within the greater precincts of such an event organisation to ascertain the opinions of the working personnel so that the levels of enthusiasm and motivation for such an event could be outlined in the most accurate manner. The company employees could be considered to be integral elements of the business process and must be urged to contribute their perceptions and thoughts regarding the objective that the business administration section of the company under consideration can involve them and employ their suggestions in the business handling. The motivation for the event can be exhibited to the working personnel and critical individuals so designs and methodology can be improved to have better impact on the clientele and the market.

2.4 Design strategies for improvement

The improvement strategies could be conducted within the perspective that the product launch even could be made more attractive and interesting to the involved customers and the peripheral participants through the proper arrangements of the included promotional events advancement through development of better advertisements. Zara, UK can utilize computerized promoting and advertisement on the Internet to achieve the targeted clientele segments and the market units since the online based information dissemination and advertisement prospects have extensively wider and more powerful exposure to greater volume of potential customers and this could as well prove to be fruitful regarding the achievement of the intended customers and clientele with particular age groups which could be considered to be more susceptible to the marketing messages generated by the company under consideration. The promotional advertisements could likewise be posted with utilization of video recordings and audio effects to better attract the customers and the local agents of the regional communities. The content which could be generated and shared by the company regarding the product launch event could then be forwarded to the interested groups of participants and stakeholders for the purpose of generating the previews through which the efficacy of the product launch event schedules and specific attributes could be outlined and further attention could be generated. Zara additionally can offer opportunity to participants to obtain special gift offerings regarding the levels of cooperation as well as to meet the significant personalities belonging to the entertainment and business industry. This could be considered, as has been observed by Kettinger et al (2015), to be a successful impetus to change the product preference patterns of existing consumers of the garment industry. The plan of the occasion can be clarified through exercises such as television advertisements, through the publishing of promotional articles in daily news media and through posting of web content related to the offered products on the official websites as well as on the social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and others. The investors and stakeholders as well as the employees can be provided with sufficient encouragement with the inclusion of their cerebral inputs in the form of ideas and thoughts for planning and organising specific events. Additionally the social congregational regions and public places can be selected for such events so that adequate provisions for the participants and spectators could be made available and this could as well lead to the enhancement of the numerical volumes of the participants and contributor to a great extent.

TASK 3

Be able to develop communication processes

From the perspective of the newly appointed Community Liaison Manager, the primary responsibility scenario which could be envisaged to be related with the most extensive measure of significance is the development of the network channels which could sustain the organisational communications to the maximised extent with the most elevated measures of robustness under the prevailing circumstances. The explicit purpose of development of this communication network based interaction avenue could be envisaged as the definitive undertaking concerning the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) management on part of the organisation under consideration. The corresponding study report is also demonstrative of the dual mode communication and interaction discourse which is intended to be developed by the Zara UK between the structural working architecture of the company and the communities which could be residing in the region which is slated to be the venue of the next development of the proposed store of Zara.

3.1 Report on existing processes of communication in an organisation

The structural outline of the business organisation under consideration, Zara UK, could be comprehended in the manner of a conventional hierarchy based vertical progression where the authority regarding exacting control and decision formulation as well as the conduct of formalised communication processes could only reside to the top most tier of organisational administrative structure. The working personnel related to the company under consideration and other employees could avail the facilities regarding utilisation of communication modes through mail and telephone services to establish effective contacts with other sections of the organisation, with those of the higher ups as well as with their colleagues. Apart from this, the organisation has provided the provision of Internet based communication portals through which the employees could obtain expert opinion and guidance regarding the difficulties and impediments which they could come to experience regarding their business responsibilities. This methodical structure of communication could be identified to be a formal correspondence when this is brought to utilisation at the internal working spheres and operates viable stream of information and exerts control to achieve the business objectives. In this respect, it could be understood, according to the research of Grant (2015), that Zara, UK does not provide the communication benefit based structures to the individual employees in an overriding manner which could be better explained from the perspective that the individual employees could not directly communicate with the top tier management personnel since their immediate node of connection is associated with the mid level managerial and administrative personnel. The employees of Zara UK are directed and controlled by their immediate superiors and this structural governance extends across the entire organisational spectrum of Zara. The communicative correspondences, mostly external in nature, with customers as well as different business associations, for the purpose of conveyance of information and undertaking market research are generally conducted through electronic and print mails. Client relations are dealt with operational units of the organisation, however, they are not directly related to primary decision formulation processes. Clients and customers could be communicated with through personal electronic mail accounts as well as through Internet based social media sites and through online opinion exhange platforms for generation of their feedback which could as well involve a considerate extent of criticism as per the individual as well as collective experiences of such customers. The public relationship management division at Zara, UK is responsible with regards to the correspondence with the divisions responsible for conducting market research within the management mechanism concerning the influence of the external elements such as time and cost incurrence. The availing of expert assistance and support regarding product development could as well be incumbent upon the public relationship management units of the company. The primary problem in this regard could be envisaged as the persisting utilisation of older technology and the impediments relating to the constitution of direct approach to the customers with product promotional suggestions. However, Soto-Acosta and Cegarra-Navarro (2016) has observed that the distribution of products and services and the post sales operations are presumed to be effective and satisfactory for the organisation of Zara.

3.2 Design ways to improve appropriateness

The correspondence requires to be effective and successful so that the response to the expectations and preference trends of the clients with desired outcomes could be conducted within the least measure of time possible. The inquiries of clients and their negative feedbacks are also necessary to be preserved in the forms of official archival records so as to formulate appropriate formulations of policies as credible reactions. The specific software based online information mining instruments, as per the research of Geisler and Wickramasinghe (2015), if applied by the organisation would require specific reinforcement in the form of storage capacities to preserve the outcomes of metadata based information evaluation so that the feedback mechanism could be improved further with special emphasis on the aspects of streamlining the entire mechanism to permit the customers better prospects regarding communicating their grievances and problems within a time bound manner. Additionally the representatives of the working employees might be encouraged with structural facilities to store and recover the data effectively. To this effect, the Zara UK management process can utilize most recent advancements in the IT sectors to enhance the correspondence of communication and information such as social web incorporation, individual assistance applications and texting based instant messaging so that the employees and the customers could be connected to each other with the required measure of security as well as with the reliability of data confidentiality and management of the same.

3.3 Implement improvements to ensure greater integration of systems of communication

In terms of improvements, according to Crawford (2014), the business organisation under consideration could utilise the specific communication channels such as localised media outlets so that proper offering of the available products and services could be performed with the sharing of necessary details as well as the information regarding the measures of pricing involved for different products which could be involved within such offering standards. Bharati, Zhang and Chaudhury (2015), has also observed that the application of point to sale operation related stores could be one of the solutions for Zara which could lead towards better communication with the local market based customer bases which could, in turn, provide the organisation with the utmost capability to penetrate the singular unit markets within the domestic spheres of the UK. In this respect, the localised and neighbourhood based network of employees and work representatives employed by Zara UK can contact each other with the objective of properly conducting the dispersion and administration of the offered services and the centres through which these could be made better accessible through online forum based discussions. The online forum based discussions are compelling regarding the improvement of the information correspondence between representatives of Zara, UK and the agents of the local communities. TV projects and sponsorship of sporting events within the local and regional perspectives could be utilised to better disseminate the product offering profiles as well as the positive attributes of the products and serves of the company under consideration. Publicizing the advertisements on actual and physical stores and public congregational places is required to upgrade the dissemination of the intended marketing related information which could induce the consumers and customers to identify themselves as well as their product preferences with hierarchical product offerings and services forwarded by Zara, UK. For better information correspondence and communication, the organisation under consideration can employ the independent operations units in within the company to answer the inquiries of the customers as well as the local communities such as those of the students regarding the factors of pricing, service parameters as well as the product specifications as well as the most cost effective measures of ordering the products or services. The generation of appropriate responses to the changes in the demand cycle of the products and services offered by Zara, UK could be also integral to such considerations. Localised news media outlets are likewise powerful for achievement of single mode communication and information sharing and correspondence to between the business outlets of the organisation under consideration and the local communities and consumer groups so that the products and services related marketing messages could find better numerical volume of recipients. For internal information communication and correspondence, the organisation under consideration may build up the more grounded and powerful information mining components framework to achieve the greater part of communicational efficacy through the utilisation of supervisory authoritative structures, mechanisms of customer grievance redressing and institutionalisation of rules and regulations for compliance to ensure the corporate social responsibility based enforcements.

3.4 Create a personal plan to improve own communication skills

English could be identified as the official dialect which is utilised within the working ambiance of Zara, UK and non-exposure to this linguistic mode of communication could construe hindrances for any employee and administrative operative, working within the precincts of the company under consideration. Thus, it is necessary, from a personalised perspective, to consistently invest the necessary endeavour to upgrade the personal aptitudes of communication. This could be further explained from the perspective that verbal communication could only form the bedrock for effective correspondence with the subordinates and the colleagues as well as to the various clienteles associated with the respective organisation under consideration. However, the index of communicative capability matrix is essential to be inclusive of, in particular, the ability to communicate through formal communicative written linguistic sills which could be only developed through consistent exchange of correspondence between peer to peer nodes of communication through particular medium such as reports, electronic and printed mails and archival document formulation through specially practiced scribbling abilities. In this context, as has been observed by Cooke, Stout and Salas (2017), the utilisation of different and effective reading material such as books and communicative skill development journals and online study substances has been undertaken from the personal perspective of realisation of the opportunities of communicative capability enhancement. This is indicative of the opportunities which could be availed externally to expand the basis of communicative as well as formal modes of linguistic medium through the utilisation of English as the instrument such exchanges of information, reports and ideas as well as garnering feedback from the clients and providing them with adequate and necessary information regarding the product essentials of the company of Zara. In this context, expertise in written modes of communication is essential from the administrative responsibility perspectives. Likewise, it has been evident in this respect to compose a proper and insightful survey of the developed communication capabilities involving the other working personnel and customers of Zara which could assist in the upgrading of personal abilities regarding the formulation of effective and concise reports and internal documents to detail the information which could be necessary to be furnished to the company hierarchy within the discourse of market operations of the company within the UK based domestic market segments. From the perspective of communicative effectiveness and incisiveness, it could be observed that the required element in the existing working environments is the ability to exhibit the thoughts of oneself in the most swift and accurate manner in conferences and the necessity to delineate the communicative essentials before clients could as well be considered to be imperative elements in this regard. In terms of dealing with the clientele of the United Kingdom, according to Paré et al (2015), it is further necessary to make oneself legible to the listeners and this requires the practice of phonetics and tonalities while having to be engaged in successive conversations with the clients and customers at various levels of operations. The abilities to establish logical relational linkages between disparate subjective perceptions could thus be considered to be central to convince both the organisational colleagues as well as the business associates including the stakeholders and the customers of the intended products of Zara. This could better be developed through consistently following active debate sessions which could be aired on televisions or could be accessed through online video sharing portals. Consistent practice or rehearsals could be outlined to be vital in this regard to execute the entire process of communication skill expansion and development of proficiency in both the verbal and linguistic formalised written mode of the language of English. One significant aspect which could be realised in this regard is to initially listen to the messages, verbal primarily, of others. Such preparation and advancement are additionally effective in providing the necessary quality in the coveted communication abilities development plan.

TASK 4

Be able to improve systems relating to information and knowledge

This section of the study undertaking would be comprised of the formulation process of a phase based planning process through which the realities of the concerned business sector could be outlined and the model of improvement in performance could be instituted throughout the department of communication through the application of innovation and creativity at multiple levels of operations. The ultimate objective in this regard is to develop the capabilities of the Zara, UK through evaluation of the existing formats of collection of data in the measures of formatting, dissemination and analysis as well as storage of the same at the data reservoir of Zara, UK. The changes which are considered beneficial as well as necessary to improve the data based operations medium would be delved into in detail as well as the implementation customer assistance strategic operations for improvement of the operability as well as fostering of better access on part of the existing and prospective customers of Zara,UK would also be acknowledged in this process.

4.1 Report on existing approaches to the collection, formatting, storage and dissemination of information and knowledge

Zara, UK has viable devices and strategies to store and recover the information in time. Zara, UK utilizes the client enquiries and reports on products and services to gather the information for utilisation towards formulation of business strategies. Additionally, the unstructured and organized approach methodologies are utilized to gather the data and information about market based responses of the products and the associated customer feedback. In a definitive manner, information is saved through formatting and proper analysis. The uniform analytical formatting is utilized to disseminate and place the information in an adequate manner into different database applications. The information is designed with the evaluation of the employee responses and customer feedback. According to Khodakarami and Chan (2014), this requires the organisational top tier management and administrative personnel to format and then make available the analytical conclusions of such data and information to different organisational division Zara, UK. Business data is put away in specifically secluded servers so no one can get the data without authorizations. Additionally, the distributed computing mechanism, better identified as cloud based computing process, could be utilized to impart the company with the effective capability to furnish necessary information and knowledge to working employees and existing clientele. Within the current and existing approach, Zara utilizes the structural system architecture to circulate the information to particular clients and employees. Access to information completely depends upon the groups of employees which could be formed by the managerial administrative personnel through effective utilisation of employee profiling processes based upon the designation as well as capability performance and achievements of the particular employees. Additionally, the systematic mechanisms of application of meta-data utilisation based information mining process could be applied along with the electronic mail services as well as posts on the social networks so that multifarious sources of information could be available to the business entity under consideration in this study and that too in the most adequate of formats.

4.2 Carry out appropriate changes to improve the collection, formatting, storage and dissemination of information and knowledge

Management and control of knowledge as well as information pertaining the business operations of Zara at UK are generally managed through the application of different methodical procedures and technical tools so that the improvement of the existing practices and activities could be ensured in the long term thorough the holistic development of both the processes and theoretical constructs of different models of communication as well as their practical manifestations within the operational scenario at Zara. For the accumulation of data, as has been observed by Mai (2016), the selected business organisation under consideration may utilize the technical and conceptual developments in the application of data gathering tools and instruments. The irrefutable benefit of such applications could be envisaged as the preservation, analysis and natural transformation of the information and data into operational formats which could be applied to different initiatives with the goal that exertionon the working personnel could be curtailed regarding the gathering and collection of data. This process of formatting could be acknowledged to be expanded and enhanced through the utilisation of appropriate and satisfactory programming apparatuses such as specifically designed software applications. These involve consistent as well as integral techniques of formatting which could be utilised for the purpose of effectively preserving the information in differential databases. Though the fact could persist that the capacity and speed of such storages are considerably greater, yet, the data could be reused through availing the necessary and appropriate consent from the related departments of the internal structure of the company under consideration. This could further be explained in the context of security maintenance at the storage sections of such information with persistent focus being applied on the resolutions of the digital accessibility issues pertaining to the accumulated information and data of the company under consideration. Data can be characterized through the category of utilisation and through the nature of sources with the objective that time of retrieval can be decreased. For sharing of learning amongst the most extensive number of working personnel and customers and other clients, Zara needs to organize the prioritisation of demand on the hosted cloud server so every one of the clients can get to the data with the most effective sequence of access. The dissemination of data must be reasonable with the intended objective that data can be controlled and administered for the future utilizations within Zara. Appropriate security and encryption to ensure the data security and capacity management of data and information are required to guard the same from unauthorised personnel and from unpremeditated disclosure.

4.3 Implement a strategy to improve access to systems of information and knowledge

The data and information related to Zara, UK are necessary to be grouped first as could be indicated by the information sources and as per the intended operational usage of such information so that the objective clients and peripheral marketing priorities can be distinguished. Later, the data and information can be subcategorised for the best possible preservation and access process instillation as learning of knowledge and usage of the same can be classified by inclination of different preferences of separated groups of working personnel. For example, the innovative work divisions and research and development units of the company can be permitted to utilize each format and strand of information while employees from specialized tasks can be constrained to particular arrangement of data provisioning. Additionally, effective structures of confirmation framework can be instilled to preclude any possibility of data adjustment and modification as well as unauthenticated access to such data storages. Finally, the development of less complicated structures and application of digital interfaces could be considered vital regarding enabling the employees and other working personnel as well as the selected customers to contribute to such data reservoir and to preserve the same in a sustainable manner. In this respect, it could be acknowledged by the research of Clegg, Kornberger and Pitsis (2015), the product development oriented software based approach could decrease the exertion with data format administration and access management. Time tested as well as authenticated information evaluation and metadata based data mining mechanism framework application can be utilised to deal with the data in predictable and coordinated configurations for future application.

Conclusion

The preceding portfolio based report has been examined concerning the evaluation of variegated decision formulation within the prospective and selected organisation of Zara, UK alongside the assessment of the extent of effectiveness of such information and communication development mechanism which could be under utilisation in the concerned organisation. The study has also undertaken concise analysis of the identification of the involved stakeholders of Zara, UK and has also delved into the assumptions of formulating the best possible methods through which the organisational communication could be transformed into efficacious and cost effective as well as less time consuming procedures. The engaging of the participants into a hypothetical product launch event has also been considered regarding the business activities under consideration within the study. The report has likewise analysed and shed light upon the hierarchical structure of organisational communication and has recommended the strategies to upgrade the communication and sharing of information with appropriate method application. The development of personalised communication enhancement and development plan has been examined. The report has distinguished the data frameworks and has outlined the manner in which the data structure is supervised and as well as shared in the organisational context. The tactics and strategies of improvement of communication and the implementation of the same have been examined for data and information management in the concerned business entity.

Reference List

Becerra-Fernandez, I. and Sabherwal, R., 2014. Knowledge management: Systems and processes. Routledge.

Bharati, P., Zhang, W. and Chaudhury, A., 2015. Better knowledge with social media? Exploring the roles of social capital and organizational knowledge management. Journal of Knowledge Management, 19(3), pp.456-475.

Cooke, N.J., Stout, R.J. and Salas, E., 2017. A knowledge elicitation approach to the measurement of team situation awareness. In Situational Awareness (pp. 157-182). Routledge.

Geisler, E. and Wickramasinghe, N., 2015. Principles of Knowledge Management: Theory, Practice, and Cases: Theory, Practice, and Cases. Routledge.

Grant, K., 2015. Knowledge management: an enduring but confusing fashion. Leading Issues in Knowledge Management, 2, pp.1-26.

Khodakarami, F. and Chan, Y.E., 2014. Exploring the role of customer relationship management (CRM) systems in customer knowledge creation. Information & Management, 51(1), pp.27-42.

Paré, G., Trudel, M.C., Jaana, M. and Kitsiou, S., 2015. Synthesizing information systems knowledge: A typology of literature reviews. Information & Management, 52(2), pp.183-199.

Schmitt, U., 2017, July. Shortcomings of the web of documents and data for managing personal knowledge and collaboration. In Next Generation Computing Applications (NextComp), 2017 1st International Conference on (pp. 23-29). IEEE.

Stanton, N.A. and Baber, C., 2017. Modelling command and control: Event analysis of systemic teamwork. CRC Press.

INTRODUCTION

Managing a project is a very difficult task to perform. There are a number of aspects and concepts that have to be kept in mind by the authorities (Turner, 2014). If any mistake is made, then there are chances that the project progress would be affected adversely. In this report, a project management plan for the refurbishment of the London School of Science and Technology has been developed and presented. Herein different project management principles along with human resources requirements for the current project have been discussed. Procedures and processes for this project also have been discussed in this report.

TASK 1

(a) Project Management Cycle

There are five stages in the project management process. They have been shown in Figure 1. It is imperative for the project manager to ensure that these stages and processes are followed thoroughly, as they can have a significant impact on the progress of the project (Burke, 2013). Thus it can be said that the project management cycle affects the process of managing the project and in fulfilment of its goals and objectives. In the context of the current project, it can be observed that the construction company – Sraymax has signed a contract with the London School of Science and Technology to refurbish their building and make it more functional for their business faculty. The ultimate plan is to have a fully equipped classrooms, state of the art library, offices and learning and resources centre. To execute this project, the educational institute has provided a budget of £1,500,000 while the time given for refurbishing the building is six months, and the contract of maintenance is for five years. In order to monitor and control the project, tools such as PERT, Gantt Charts, etc. have been used.

(b) Failure and Success Criteria

It will be imperative for the project authorities to determine different criteria and measuring points on which the success or failure of the project can be determined (Rose, 2013). This will play a crucial role in the success and effectiveness of the project. In this regard, two approaches have been used by the company – Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Through these methods, the management was able to determine the usefulness as well as the effectiveness of this project and also determine ways through which such parameters can be improved. NPV can be defined as the difference between the present value of cash inflows and outflows over a period of time. From figure 2 it can be observed that the NPV was computed to be positive. A positive NPV indicates that the projected earnings through this project exceed that of the anticipated costs (Bakker, Boonstra and Wortmann, 2010). In this sense, it may not be wrong to say that the company will be able to earn through this project. Further, the IRR obtained here is 73%; and the higher the IRR, the better it is to take up the project.

(c) Resources Management

It would be imperative for the authorities to identify the resources that would be used in the project and determine ways to manage them in an efficient and effective manner. This will be the key to the success of the project (Mir and Pinnington, 2014). Figure 3 shows different categories of resources that would be required in the current project. Herein the key resource will be the manpower. It is a well-known fact that human resources are the most vital aspects of any kind of project and thus special attention must be paid to determine ways to effectively manage them. Other than this, the construction company – Sraymax will also have to obtain the necessary finance. Technical resources also will be crucial. The management will have to procure tools and machinery such as earth movers and other light tools. Herein the management will have to maintain a proper checklist of all the resources required for the project and the ones that have been used. This way the project manager can ensure that the project is properly maintained and it is completed successfully.

(d) Key stages in closing down

Closing or finishing the project, although is the last stage, but is an extremely important stage (Tohidi, 2011). Through this process, the manager can ensure and compare the progress of the project and use this information to determine the success of the project. One of the main aspects that should be considered while closing a project is to compare the checklist or the list of client’s requirements with the actual results. This will enable the authorities to determine the overall success of the project and also identify any problem areas and provide solutions to recover from them. In the context of the current project, the manager will have to pay attention to the post-project appraisal aspect. Here the function of quality management will be crucial. It will help in evaluating the quality of the project, on the basis of which the success of the project can be determined.

TASK 2

(a) Organizational Structure and Roles and Responsibilities

In the current project, the functional organisational structure should be used. This structure has been shown in Figure 4. Through this type of structure, the manager will be able to control the project in a better manner and ensure that all activities are carried out properly. Herein the employees and workers will be divided on the basis of the functions they perform in the project. One of the biggest advantages of this structure is that it would enable the manager to exert a greater degree of control on activities during the project and thus ensure that they are performed properly and as per desired standards (Morris, 2010). Herein the most important role and responsibility will be carried out by the project manager. He will act as a bridge for effective communication between the top management and rest of the employees. The project manager will be responsible for coordinating different departments and also in ensuring that the employees and workers have a clear idea about the tasks and duties that they have to perform.

(b) Controlling and coordinating the project

It will be imperative for the project manager to control the activities of the project. This will be the key to the success and effectiveness of the project (Hanisch and Wald, 2012). In the context of the current construction and refurbishment project, it can be said that there are three main areas that the project manager will have to focus on controlling. They are cost, quality and schedule. By paying attention to these aspects and using these techniques, the project manager will be able to control the progress of the project. For instance, the manager will have to ensure that the costs are kept to a minimum. This means that the resources will have to be used in an efficient and effective manner. Similarly, the project manager also would have to pay attention to ensuring attainment of the highest quality standards. This will be useful in satisfying the client, i.e. the London School of Science and Technology. Scheduling will help in ensuring that the tasks are completed on time.

(c) Project Leadership Requirements

One of the key elements in the success of any project is the leadership function. Through a proper style of leadership the project manager can manage and use the resources properly (Shi, 2011). Herein it can be observed that there are a number of functions and activities that will have to be performed to make the project a success and also complete it in an efficient and effective manner. One of the key leadership requirements is in terms of communication. Apart from being an excellent communicator, the leader will have to act as a facilitator for all types of communication requirements during the project. This means that the leader will have to act as a bridge between the management and the employees. It can be a very crucial quality for a leader, as it has the potential to affect the progress of the project thoroughly. Another key quality of the leader would be that he should be able to manage the resources thoroughly and effectively.

(d) Human Resource Requirements

From the Table 1, it is clear that there are a large number of functions and activities that need to be carried out, in order to make the project a great success. It is a well-known fact that human resources are the key to making any project successful and effective (Burke, 2013). If they are not used and managed properly, then the progress of the project will be affected in an adverse manner. My main responsibility as an associate in the current project is that of the site inspection. I am accountable for the planning function, but the management will consult with while inviting tenders for the project.

TASK 3

(a) Detailed Project Plan

This project is very important for the London School of Science and Technology. A total of £1,500,000 will be spent on this project, and the timeline given for completion of refurbishment project is six months. Out of the given budget, £200,000 will be spent on the human resources and £300,000 will be spent on machinery and tools. In this project risk management will be a very important part. To manage the risks, the project manager will create and maintain a detailed checklist. It would contain thorough details about the project and thus will help in ensuring that the tasks and duties are being performed properly.

(b) Scheduling, Estimation and Cost Control

It is extremely important for the project manager to ensure that the project is managed in an efficient and effective manner. Even a single mistake can have an adverse impact on the project and could delay it (Morris, 2010). Figure 5 shows the PERT Chart on the basis of which the project can be scheduled, while in Table 2 Gantt chart for the current project has been shown. Thus there are 12 activities that must be completed within the time frame of 6 months. In Figure 5, the bars marked in red show the critical path, which if followed will result in the completion of the project in 139 days instead of the 180 day time period, i.e. six months.

(c) Methods to analyse project performance

There is a number of methods and techniques through which the performance of the current project can be analysed in an efficient and effective manner (Tohidi, 2011). However, here the project manager should use techniques such as Budgeted Costs for Work Performed (BCWP). It represents the total of three components - budgets for all work actually performed, budgets for work - the completed portion of in process and overheads budgets. Apart from this, the manager can also use KPIs or the Key Performance Indicators. Although this can be a very simple approach to analyse the performance, it can help the manager to obtain a significant amount of information regarding the project and thus analyse its performance as well.

(d) Change Control Procedure

There are four steps which will have to be completed in order to implement a change and control it (Bakker, Boonstra and Wortmann, 2010). These steps have been shown in Figure 7. In the first step, the manager will have to define and explain the change request. Detailed information about the change will be shared in this step, while in the second stage request for the change to be implemented would be submitted to the authorities and top management. In the third stage, different documents in terms of options and resources required to implement the change will be defined, and in the last stage, final approval will be given.

CONCLUSION

This report focused on project management activities for a construction project of refurbishing the building of London School of Science and Technology. Herein different aspects of project management were discussed such as the project management cycle, etc. Further, a Gantt Chart and PERT chart were developed for the current project.

REFERENCES

Bakker, K., Boonstra, A. and Wortmann, H., 2010. Does risk management contribute to IT project success? A meta-analysis of empirical evidence. International Journal of Project Management, 28(5), pp.493-503.

Hanisch, B. and Wald, A., 2012. A bibliometric view on the use of contingency theory in project management research. Project Management Journal, 43(3), pp.4-23.

Morris, P.W., 2010. Research and the future of project management. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 3(1), pp.139-146.

Turner, J.R., 2014. Handbook of project-based management(Vol. 92). New York, NY: McGraw-hill.

INTRODUCTION

Managing finance is a very key function for companies, regardless of the market that they may be a part of. It is the considered as the basis for attaining success and sustaining in the market for a long period of time (Massingham, 2014). In this report, the researcher has presented different aspects of financial management with regards to establishing operations of a newly formed company XYZ Ltd.

Task 1

1.1 Sources of finance

There are a large number of sources from which XYZ Ltd. can obtain finance for establishing and managing its operations. Essentially they can be categorised into three types, as shown in Figure 1. However, in the context of the current case study, it can be said that the company should acquire finance from bank loans, own funds and issue of equity shares. Through these sources, the company can easily fulfil its financial requirements and therefore establish and manage its operations in an efficient and effective manner (Drechsler and Natter, 2012). While using these sources, the management must ensure that the company has sufficient security, so that even if one of the sources fail, then as well as the operations can be managed and the firm can continue to operate.

1.2 Implications of sources of finance

If the company will use bank loans, then it would have to put some collateral or asset with the bank as a guarantee. This means that if the company is not able to pay off its loan, then the bank can seize the asset and sell it to recover its losses (Nickel, Saldanha-da-Gama and Ziegler, 2012). This source does not entail any dilution in control; as is the case with the use of own capital. Herein the owner can use his/her funds to finance the company and in return would expect some kind of interest from the organisation. However, if the firm raises funds by issuing equity shares, then there would be a dilution of control.

1.3 Benefits of the sources of finance

One of the key benefits of bank loans is that the company can gain access to quick money (Massingham, 2014). The required amount is almost instantaneously transferred to the firm once the loan is approved. This way the company can fulfil its financial requirements almost immediately. On the other hand, the main benefit of using own finance is that the firm would not have to pay very high-interest rates, thereby helping it to save a lot of money in the process. By issuing equity shares, XYZ Ltd. can acquire large sums of money. This source is most effective and useful in cases when the firm is in need of a large amount of funding.

2.1 Financial Costs

If XYZ Ltd. takes a loan from the bank, then it would have to pay very high-interest rates. This will have a negative impact on the financial performance of the company, as its liabilities would increase on a regular basis. If the liabilities are very high, then the firm would not be able to acquire funding from third parties such as banks, investors, etc. Similarly, if the company takes funding from the owner’s capital, then also it would have to pay huge sums of money in the form of interests (Rezvani, Gilaninia and Mousavian, 2011). If equity shares are used for funding, then not only will it result in dilution of control, but then the company will have to pay dividends to the shareholders and eventually it would make firm’s operations more complicated.

M2 Reasons for the sources of finance

These sources of finance were suggested to the company mainly due to the fact that they are very easy to be acquired. In addition to this they are highly flexible as well; meaning that the management of the company can use these sources as per the organisational requirements. This way operation of the firm can be made more efficient and effective, thereby enabling the firm to establish its operations and focus on enhancing and strengthening its position in the market (Hirukawa and Ueda, 2011).

Task 2

3.1 Cash Flow Forecast

Herein it can be observed that cash sales of the company during the four months have remained the same, while credit sales for the months of July, August and September has remained the same. During August and September, the company had to make payments to the suppliers. In July and August, the company ran a marketing campaign worth £5,000, the results of which can be observed through the cash in hand aspect. During these two months, it was at the highest while in the remaining two months it was very low. In this sense, it can be said that the marketing campaign run by the company was successful as it resulted in better organisational performance.

Market Budget

2.2 Importance of financial planning

In this age of hyper-competition, it is imperative for companies that they use proper methods and tools to manage their financial resources (Malhotra and Temponi, 2010). It is one of the most effective ways through which the firm can sustain in the market and fulfil its goals and objectives. Through proper financial planning, the financial resources can be used in a proper manner, thereby ensuring that enough funds are available for critical and key operations. Furthermore, financial planning also helps the management to take effective and well-informed decisions. This way the company can easily sustain in the industry and perform to the best of its capabilities, while adequately using the various resources it has access to.

TASK 3

3.2 Calculating unit price

On the basis of the table, it can be said that the method 1 for calculating the selling price is a lot better than the method 2. The selling price in method 1 is more than that of in method 2. This way the company can sell its products at a higher price and thus generate more revenue and earn more profits. This will enable the firm to perform in terms of its financial capabilities and also strengthen its position in the industry. By selling at £17, the company can satisfy the demands of the customers and ensure that it does not suffer from any financial loss or trouble. However, if it would sell at £13, then there are chances that the customers may develop the perception that its products are not of the best quality standards.

M1 Alternative pricing strategies

The company can price skimming strategy. Herein it would keep the price of its products and services very high so that only niche customers will buy it (Siano, Kitchen and Giovanna Confetto, 2010). Through the use of this method, although the company’s customer base may reduce, there are chances that it will gain quality and loyal customers.

TASK 4

3.3 Payback Period, Accounting Rate of Return and Net Present Value

On the basis of the calculations shown below, it can be said that the company should invest its £250,000 in expanding to the East of the country. By taking this decision, the firm would be able to recover its investments in just three years as compared to 4 years in the North. Moreover, the ARR for East is higher than North. East’s ARR was computed at 52% while for North it was only 42%. This indicates that by investing in expanding to the East, the company will earn 52% more on every pound it has invested in the region. Finally, the NPV of East is also higher, making it better option for investment.

Payback Period

Accounting Rate of Return

ARR=Average Profit/Average Investment

ARR for North=35+100+35+65+120-250/5/250/5

ARR=105/5/250/5=21/50*100=42%

ARR for East=100+45+60+115+60-250/5/250/5

ARR=130/5/250/5=26/50*100=52%

Net Present Value

D1 Steps to enhance Cash Flow

One of the ways through which the company can enhance its cash flow is by accepting payments online (Den Heijer, 2011). Generally, cheques take a lot of time to clear, but payments made online are transferred almost instantly to the company’s account. This means that the firm will have an increased flow of money through this method. Another way to do this is to pay the suppliers less. However, for this, the firm will have to develop and maintain its relations with the suppliers and gain their trust.

D3 IRR for both projects

From the table below it can be observed that the Internal Rate of Return for East is higher than that of North. Generally speaking, the higher a project's internal rate of return, the more desirable it is to undertake. By using the internal rate of return, the management of an organisation can evaluate different types of multiple prospective projects. This would enable the company to gain access to a plethora of information and use it in the decision-making process.

Task 5

4.1 and 4.2 Purpose of Income Statement and Balance Sheet

A balance sheet is very useful in determining and presenting accurate financial standing of the company. Stakeholders such as creditors and investors read this statement to identify the assets and liabilities of the firm (Drechsler and Natter, 2012). They use this information to take a proper decision. On the other hand, an income statement provides a snapshot of a company’s profitability during a time period.

2.3 Information needs of decision makers

In an organisational setting, there are different decision-makers, and each of them has different information needs. For instance, creditors and investors want to identify the current and accurate financial position of the company, while shareholders want to know about the firm’s financial performance (Broadbent and Cullen, 2012). These parties take appropriate decisions only the basis of the amount, extent and quality of information that they have access to. This is the key for them to take effective decisions.

2.4 Impact on financial statements

In the current scenario, if the company will acquire finance through bank loans, then the same will be reflected in the liabilities side of the balance sheet. This will have a negative impact on the statement of financial position (Huang and et al., 2013). If there are too many liabilities, then investors will refrain from investing in the company, thereby affecting its operations and sustainability in the market.

4.3 Accounting ratios

Current Ratio

The current ratio for XYZ Ltd was 1.81. The formula is as follows:

Current Assets/Current Liabilities

Acid Test Ratio

It was computed as 0.92. The formula is as follows:

Current Assets-Inventory/Current Liabilities

Return on Capital Employed Ratio

ROCE was determined as 14.22. The formula is as follows:

Operating Profit/Capital Employed ×100

Gross Profit Margin

The GP Margin ratio was 40. The formula is as follows:

Gross Profit/Sales ×100

Net Profit Margin

The net profit margin was 10.2. The formula is as follows:

Net Profit/Sale ×100

M3 Plotting results on graph

(i) Current Ratio and Acid Test Ratio

(ii) ROCE, gross profit margin and net profit margin

CONCLUSION

Financial management is the key for any organisation to achieve success and sustain in the market. During the current study, it was observed that there are a number of sources from which a newly established company XYZ Ltd can acquire the necessary funds and thus be able to manage its operations in an efficient and effective manner.

REFERENCES

Broadbent, M. and Cullen, J., 2012. Managing financial resources. Routledge.

Den Heijer, A.C., 2011. Managing the University Campus: Information to support real estate decisions. Eburon Uitgeverij BV.

Drechsler, W. and Natter, M., 2012. Understanding a firm's openness decisions in innovation. Journal of business research, 65(3), pp.438-445.

Hirukawa, M. and Ueda, M., 2011. Venture capital and innovation: which is first?. Pacific Economic Review, 16(4), pp.421-465.

Huang, C. and et al., 2013. Managing the health effects of temperature in response to climate change: challenges ahead. Environmental health perspectives, 121(4), p.415.

Malhotra, R. and Temponi, C., 2010. Critical decisions for ERP integration: Small business issues. International Journal of Information Management, 30(1), pp.28-37.

Massingham, P., 2014. An evaluation of knowledge management tools: Part 1–managing knowledge resources. Journal of Knowledge Management, 18(6), pp.1075-1100.

Nickel, S., Saldanha-da-Gama, F. and Ziegler, H.P., 2012. A multi-stage stochastic supply network design problem with financial decisions and risk management. Omega, 40(5), pp.511-524.

Rezvani, M., Gilaninia, S. and Mousavian, S.J., 2011. Strategic planning: A tool for managing organizations in competitive environments. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 5(9), pp.1537-1546.

Siano, A., Kitchen, P.J. and Giovanna Confetto, M., 2010. Financial resources and corporate reputation: Toward common management principles for managing corporate reputation. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 15(1), pp.68-82.