The organizations have been focused towards adopting key business approaches and practices that would contribute towards their improved revenue as well as profitability in the marketplace. In order to achieve such strategic goals to revenue and operational growth, it is required by the management to identify and understand the changing market needs, as well as the stakeholder preferences and accordingly the internal business or operational strategies, are to be defined. Considering such need, it can be reflected that in the present marketplace there is a need for the business organization to focus towards the increased social preferences and need towards sustainability and societal development along with that of the business growth. The approach to sustainability ensures that the business organization have a balanced approach towards society, business as well as the environment. Further to strengthen the approach to sustainability international organizations including United Nations (UN) has defined several key sustainable Continue reading
Business Analysis Case
Zara’s Lean Operation: Source of Competitive Advantage
Fashion giant, Zara, forms part of the retail group ‘Grupo Inditex’ which is one of the “largest, fastest growing and successful” clothing retailers across Europe. Grupo Inditex is formulated by an amalgamation of major high street names from across Europe, including Zara, Pull and Bear and Bershka, in total boasting 3,825 stores across 68 countries.Zara’s success story begins by offering a product range capable of catering for men, women and children, providing affordable and stylish clothes whatever the season. Coupled with this, is their keen eye for discovering new fashion trends and translating these trends from the catwalk to the high street, both quickly and affordably. Zara boasts a marketing strategy of firstly product variety with a focal point of ensuring speed to market. At present, Zara launch 10,000 new articles per year across their portfolio of stores. Finally, store location, as any marketing is left to store location rather Continue reading
Case Study: Disney’s Diversification Strategy
The story of Disney is that of a company founded in 1923 by the Disney brothers, Walt and Roy. In the beginning, the company was referred to as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio and later incorporated as Walt Disney Productions in 1929. Walt Disney Productions made its mark for many years in the animation industry before venturing into television and live-action film production. Something else also happened before Walt had the breakthrough with Mickey Mouse. Before Mickey, there was Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit. But because he didn’t own the copyright, Walt lost the rights to Oswald, a bitter lesson that was to shape his company positively in the future. That experience thought him very early the value of intellectual property and Disney has used that knowledge to tighten controls over its properties as well as build defense against entrants and competing incumbents. The characters at Disney are well protected and Continue reading
Case Study: Wal-Mart’s Failure in Germany
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the largest retailer in the world, the world’s second-largest company and the nation’s largest non-governmental employer. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in various retailing formats in all 50 states in the United States. The Company’s mass merchandising operations serve its customers primarily through the operation of three segments. The Wal-Mart Stores segment includes its discount stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets in the United States. The Sam’s club segment includes the warehouse membership clubs in the United States. The Company’s subsidiary, McLane Company, Inc. provides products and distribution services to retail industry and institutional foodservice customers. Wal-Mart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,416 retail units under 53 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2010 sales of $405 billion, Wal-Mart employs more than 2.1 million associates worldwide. Nearly 75% of its stores are in the United Continue reading
Case Study: Organizational Structure and Culture of Virgin Group
The Virgin Group is one of the most successful business empires today. This organization has established itself in diverse industries including mobile telephony, retail, music, financial services, travel, and many more. Virgin has ruled the British market and has expanded worldwide into other regions like North America, Asia, Africa and Australia. Starting out as a simple mail-order record retailer in 1970, Virgin has grown into one of the most successful business empires in the world. The Virgin Group has established more than 300 companies, employing around 50000 people in 30 countries. Its global revenues in 2009 exceeded US$18 billion. The majority of the Virgin Group’s success has been credited to the founder and CEO of Virgin, Richard Branson. Branson’s beliefs and philosophies are deeply rooted in the corporate culture of the Virgin Group. This has helped the Virgin Group to flourish in today’s competitive business world. History and Development of Continue reading
Competitive Analysis of DELL using Porter’s Five Forces Model
Dell Company was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell. It is the world’s largest direct-sale computer vendor; Dell Inc. is now also the leading seller of computer systems in the world, capturing a global market share of more than 15 percent. Dell markets desktop personal computers, notebook computers, network servers, workstations, handheld computers, monitors, printers, high-end storage products, and a variety of computer peripherals and software. In this article we will use Porter’s Five Forces to analysis Dell’s great success in the industry. Force 1: The Degree of Rivalry The PC industry consists of a number of companies; hence the threat from industry competitors is high. Due to the product being highly standardized and shifting costs between brands is low, there is fierce competition which leads to lower margins and profitability in the market. The PC industry can be described as a high competitive industry. For Dell the main competitors Continue reading