Business Strategy of Earth Public Limited Company - Term Paper Example

? Business Strategy Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts June Earth plc , a large multinational company involved in mining and the extraction of minerals throughout the world is on the verge of implementing the company’s change strategy the centers on supplying the diverse clients’ needs, wants, and caprices. The research focuses on the many stakeholders interested in Earth Plc’s products and services. The research delves in each type of shareholder’s different needs, wants, and caprices. The focus of the research is to determine the change management strategy needed to innovatively offer the products and services needed by each unique stakeholder. Earth Plc needs to focus more to the expectations of their most prominent stakeholders and to the processes in which its culture influences the type of strategy it adopts (Abele, 2008). Principal stakeholder analysis Identification of the interests of the different stakeholders Fisk (2008) emphasized there are different stakeholders in Earth Plc. The customers are interested in the financial statements of Earth Plc in order to determine if the company will stay open during the times when the customers will be buying their much-needed mining needs. The employees of Earth Plc are needed the company’s financial statements in order to determine if it is ripe to ask for salary and other wage benefit increases. A set of financial statements that indicates a loss trend will indicate that there is high probability the company will close shop in the foreseeable future. In this case, a majority of the employees will be forced to find employment in other greener pastures (other companies). The managers are interested to get a copy of the financial statements in order to know if they have performed their duties and responsibilities in accordance with preset benchmarks. Basically, managers are given a profit benchmark. Here, the financial statements that indicate a loss is equivalent to a failing grade; financial statements that show a net profit is equivalent to a passing grade. The suppliers are very interested to get a copy of the company’s financial statements to determine if the company will stay long enough to buy their goods and services. Financial statements indicating a net loss would prod the supplier to seek other clients to replace Earth Plc because there is a strong indication the company will close shop in the near future. The creditors are interested to get a copy of the financial statements of the Earth Plc. The creditors will use the financial statements as a ground for granting or approving the company’s credit limit. A financial statement that indicates a net profit will encourage the creditors to immediately approve the company’s credit limit application. On the other hand, a financial statement that indicates a net loss will show that the company may not be able to pay their maturing debts on time due to lack of available cash on hand. The labor union is interested to get a copy of the financial statements in order to determine if the company is able to grant salary and other wage benefit increases. The net profit will indicate that the company will not be able to stay long enough to grant the salary increases. In this case, the labor unions will allow the postponement of the salary and other wage benefit increases. The environmental protection agencies are interested to grab a copy of the company’s financial statements the agencies are interested to know if the company is complying all environmental protection statutes. The financial statements generally indicate if Earth Plc is regularly dumping its mining wastes into the crystal clear waters of the nearby river. The environmental protection agencies will not hesitate to penalize companies, especially Earth Plc, that do not use high smoke stacks to let polluting smoke be release at a level that is higher than the height of the average person; this will lessen the people from inhaling the hazardous exhaust smoke used to process the Earth Plc mining products. The stockholders are interested to get a copy of the company’s balance sheet and income statements. The stockholders invest their hard-earned cash in Earth Plc’s business in order to generate cash or stock dividends. A financial statement that indicates a net loss will show that the company will not be able to grant the current year’s dividend to the investors. In turn, the stockholders will be persuaded to withdraw their current investments in Earth Plc and place them in other companies that are able to give them their projected dividend distributions. The community is interested to get a copy of the company’s financial statements. The residents will use the financial statements as one of the many indicators for possible job placements. A financial statement will indicate whether there is still room enough for the hiring of additional workers. A financial statement that indicates a loss will show that the company will not be able to increase its labor expenses. A financial statement that indicates a net loss will show that the company is prodding the possibility of reducing its work force through retrenchment. Thus, the residents in the community will be persuaded to find jobs in other establishments within the community or within the community’s outskirts. Identification of how much influence or power each stakeholder has Czinkota reiterated (2007) that each stakeholder has a significant influence on the company’s current management strategy. The customers’ demand for the company’s products will affect company’s marketing and management strategy. The company must exert different change strategies to fit the diverse need temperaments of the company’s current and prospective customers. The employees are instrumental in accomplishing the company’s goal of producing enough goods and services to fill the discriminating needs of the Earth Plc mining clients. A disgruntled employee may tend to produce less than normal production output as a silent protest for unfair labour treatment. The managers are the pilots of the business, the managers normally handle the reigns of running the company’s marketing, production, and finance strategies. The managers will directly instruct the production department workers to increase their production to meet the minimum quantity demands of the company’s clients. The suppliers are able to affect the company’s change strategy. The company needs the help of the suppliers to produce the company’s minimum quantity of goods and services that will need the different needs of the Earth Plc’s clients. The creditors will influence the company’s change strategy. With credit, the company has to rely on available cash on hand to fund the company’s production and revenue generating activities. Credit is a very powerful change strategy that will aid in the company’s expansion plans since the company can buy its production, and other needs without need for using its scarce cash resources. The environmental protection agencies will influence the company’s change strategy. The company will not be allowed to continue its current production if such production activities violate any of the country’s environmental protection statutes or policies. The stockholders have a direct influence on the company’s change strategy. The stockholders will increase or increase their cash and other asset investments in the company depending the company’s financial performance. The community has a direct effect on the company’s change strategy. The company needs the services of the community (workers) to generate the minimum production and marketing requirements of the company. Without the community’s help, the company will be forced to hire workers from the outskirts of the city. In turn, the company will be forced to offer higher salaries to cover the additional transportation expenses of workers coming from other communities (McDonald, 2007). Conflicting Needs and Wants Hilton (2007) opined that here are conflicting wants/needs. The strategic decision marketer manages that conflict by choosing the best alternative among the many given alternatives or choices. The best alternative will generally produce the highest possible revenue output. For example, the customers need only a maximum number of products. On the other hand, the company’s marketing department wants to sell mining product quantities and services that far exceed the maximum requirements of Earth Plc customers in order to generate more revenues and net profits. The stockholders want to receive huge dividends in exchange for the stockholders’ investments. However, the net loss financial statements indicate that management will not be able to grant the stockholders’ wishes at this time. The environmental protection group is interested in to know if the company is complying with environmental protection laws. The environmental protection agency’s interest runs counter to the company’s goal of reducing the company’s operating expenses to allowable levels. The company will have to allocate cash to set up a viable environmental protection devise. The employees are interested to ask for an increase in their salaries and other fringe benefits. On the other hand, management wants to reduce its labour and other wages expenses in order to increase the company’s net profit data or reducing the company. The suppliers prefer to increase their delivery of Earth Plc’s processing material needs in order to increase the suppliers’ revenues and net profits. This is in conflict management’s prerogative to buy only the minimum required raw materials to reduce its cost of sales data. A process for identifying the amount of influence that these stakeholders have over the company’s future direction. Rix (2007) theorized the process for identifying the amount of influence that these stakeholders have over the company’s future direction is brainstorming. Under the brainstorming activity, all interested parties are invited to give their opinions, suggestions, comments, complaints, and recommendations to bolster their best interests. Management will make a decision that priortises increasing the company’s revenues, net profits, and other relevant basis. For example, the company must comply with the environmental laws as well as the labour laws. The factors that influence the existing culture of the company. Weele (2005) emphasized that there are several significant factors that influence the existing culture of the company. First the company’s aggressive strategy is geared towards prioritizing the company’s goals, needs, wants, and objectives over the goals, needs, wants, and objectives of the other stakeholders. Specifically, the Earth Plc’s marketing expense ceiling influences the company’s existing culture. Likewise, the operating expense limits influence the existing culture of the company. In addition, the company’s aim to meet its revenue as well as net profit goals. The company’s desire to meet the company’s other goals and objectives will strongly influence the company’s existing culture. The company’s desire to meet the diverse demands, wants, needs, and caprices of the company’s current and prospective clients significantly influences the existing culture of the company. Lastly, the company’s desire to meet the demands, needs, and caprices of all stakeholders will have some amount of influence on the company’s existing culture. A process for changing the company’s culture to make it less aggressive and more collaborative. Weirich (2009) proposed that the process to change the company’s culture to make it less aggressive and more collaborative is an effective change management strategy. First, the company will sent a survey to the various stakeholders discussed above. The questions will pertain to generating diverse opinions, comments, recommendations, and complaints with the aim of making the current company culture less aggressive and more collaborative. Based on the survey outputs, Earth Plc will implement a less aggressive and more collaborative by inputting and implement some of the viable and reasonable inputs from the above stakeholders. This process is classified as client-centered because the client acts to fill a need. The opposite is company-centered. Under this method, the company produces a product and uses advertising to make the prospective clients realize that they need the advertised products. The client-centered approach is the less expensive but more effective marketing as well as management strategy. The company’s future strategic direction – given your assessment of stakeholders’ expectations and its culture. Etzel (2001) intentioned that based on the assessment of the stakeholders’ expectations and its culture, the Earth Plc’s future strategic direction is to focus on implementing the best alternative that the group chooses. The best alternative complies with the basic goal of satisfying the most number of stakeholders needs. By doing so, the stakeholders will patronize the company’s mining products and services. Consequently, the patronizing will increase Earth Plc’s revenues. Next, the increase in revenues will increase the company’s net profits. BASED ON THE ABOVE DISCUSSION, the company’s change strategy must focus on filling the clients’ needs, wants, and caprices. There several stakeholders in Earth Plc’s products and services. Each type of shareholder has diverse needs, wants, and caprices. The focus of change management strategy is to innovatively find the service that snugly fits the needs of each unique stakeholder. Consequently, the increase in the demand for the company’s products and services will trigger an increasing trend in the company’s stock market share prices. Indeed, the company needs to pay more attention to the expectations of their most prominent stakeholders and to the ways in which its culture influences the type of strategy it adopts because the better business strategy must be client-centered to be more effective. REFERENCES Abele, E. (2008). Global Production: A handbook for Strategy and Implementation. London & Sydney: Springer Press. Fisk, P., (2006) Marketing Genius. London & Sydney, J. Wiley & Sons. Czinkota, M., (2007) International Marketing. London & Sydney, Cengage Press. McDonald, M., (2007) Marketing Plans: How to Prepare them, How to Use Them. London & Sydney, Butterworth –Heinemann Press. Hilton, R. (2007). Managerial Accounting. London & Sydney : McGraw Hill. Rix, P. (2007). Marketing: A Practical Approach. London & Sydney: McGraw Hill Press. Weele, A. (2005). Purchasing & Supply Chain Management: Analysis, Strategy, Planning and Practice. London & Sydney: Cengage Learning Press. Weihrich, H. (2009). Management. London & Sydney: McGraw Hill. Etzel, M., Walker, B., Stanton, W., (2001) Marketing, N.Y., London & Sydney, McGraw -Hill, Read More