Focus More upon Environment
A former manager at the Leigh Knopf was planning for strategy at AICPA. He has stated that larger firms have made various ways of studying the external department of environment for better operating upon client’s requests. What is going on in India these days are somewhere the impact of the older firms of America. In the description of Chapter 9 the importance of organizations assessment was stated. These are done with three strategies including environmental scan, benchmarking and forecasting.
Environmental scan:
How important are these scanning processes for environment? While going through a company’s website Bill Gates has founded a page that demanded help for all open jobs. The jobs being mentioned were identical for Microsoft jobs. He wondered why Google would post such job requirement posts. In fact this job included web search engine state had nothing for software engineer’s background and also with Microsoft business. Gates immediately mailed this to the higher executives for making them understand that Microsoft had better chances of toes than those of Google. Here Google was trying to be a software based company.
How can a manager be aware of those of the environmental changes with a new law from Germany and permitting them for shopping, the increasing trend of consumer product from South Africa. This declination through working age of people from Japan, Italy and Germany, or else decreasing family sizes in Mexico? The managers from both small or vats organization makes usage of environmental scanning process. This is basically a kind of screening done for changes made through information of environment. Extensive form of environmental changes is meant for revealing the list of issues that could often infect an organizations activity going on presently. Higher performance of the company is aimed by the environmental scanning. If the organization doesn’t follow this trend then they had to face loss.
Competitor intelligence:
Competitor intelligence has been the fastest growing area through environmental scanning process. With this process organization can get any type of questions answer flourishing within organization. What and how are the organizations going on etc. all are easily answered. Let’s have a look at an example of Dun and Bradsheet. This is one of the leading providers for business information’s. Here the division manager had received calls for sales from vice president. A person stated on phone that another major company has been passing sales information to other companies about the presentations. D&B has been convinced that they were not from amongst the co pettier company and had dozen of sources for aiming at the right place.
If the manager wants to learn more about the competitor then this could easily be done here at the competitor intelligence. This does not involve spying others. This is done with the help of advertisements, promotional work, annual reports, press etc. Attending various shows and briefing the idea might give scope for information. Many firms are engaged in this work and they buy the competitor firm products for understanding their information. In internet has also started a vast resource for competitor intelligence.
Managers need to be careful with this way of competition. For example, Procter and Gamble is a firm with intelligence support. They misrepresented to the competitor Unilever’s employees. Thus they went through various thrash. When the CEO of P&G found this he instantly fired individuals who were responsible. When it is about theft then this becomes illegal. The act of Economic Espionage was a crime to make it possible to steal the secrets of trade. There is always a line between legal things and illegal acts. Thus competitor intelligence follows this.
Global scanning:
Global scanning is important for environmental scanning process. Managers are expanding the scanning ways for earning global importance. It depends largely upon organization activities. If an organizations global interest then their global scanning is well valuable. For example, the Sealed Air Corporation from New York has made this seen through some of their products. Bubble wraps finds few of geographic transformation. The companies are shifting from agriculture based to industries the people are seen eating more of flavored stuffs that are prepackaged.
The sources for global scanning are more of domestic environment and limited too global scanning processes. For example these can look for information subscription that reviews the newspaper and daily business news. In fact electronic services could also serve you with better chances of interest for managers with extended source of information.
Forecasting:
The second technique would be forecasting. This is important for panning and forecasts news. This will allow the organization to predict well for future events occurring. Environmental scan is the basis for forecasting. This is the prediction of various outcomes. Virtually any of the components from organization can be forecasted. Let’s have a look at what managers did.
Techniques of forecasting:
This fall under two categories: Quantitative and Qualitative. Quantitative are meant for application of mathematical rules for certain outcomes. The qualitative uses knowledge of varied judgments’ for relative outcomes. This can typically be shown at the Exhibit PM-1. Many organizations have made usage of forecasts example would be CPFR. This is for collaborating planning, forecasting as well as replenishment. It provides a basis for framework flow with information and goods. 10 percent of the data differ while calculating the forecast. This is done when the manufacture exchange is taken place.
Forecasting effectiveness:
To provide manager a set of information to facilitate the decision making processes. Managers have attained a mixture of success with this. Managers of Procter had made certain limits for providing that the employees need not have to be paid for just sitting. This move was analytical for all others and also served factory of Liquid detergent Tide with number of laundry holidays. When after the placement of order by customer the plant was reopened. Then they had to pay their employees for the overtime working. The shipments were done for meeting retailers demand. Managers forecasting is not always to the accuracy as per the above mentioned example. 84 percent of workers said as per a survey that their forecast was wrong54 percent. Only few of 39 percent could find that their accuracy as accurate to some extent.
Thus making forecasting is relevantly important for the company’s managers. When the surrounding work is not changing rapidly then this process would work effectively but if this changes then forecasting won’t work out. Non seasonal recession periods couldn’t be predicted with forecasting. Simple forecasting methods could produce better chances of producing the best forecasting techniques. Involving more number of people through the process would be more beneficial. At the Fortune 100 Company it is unusual to have 1000 or else 5000 managers providing with forecasting inputs. Using the rolling forecast 12 to 18 months ahead instead of the forecasting. In case if something turns out to be the turning point then this becomes the random event. Forecasting software’s had made the task even easier.
Benchmarking:
If you are a talented gymnast then to become best you are learning from all other sources with better techniques and motions. This similar approach is defined to be a benchmarking process through these strategies process. This process includes a benchmarking to be responsible for best search of practices that would lead to superior performances within competitor or else non competitors. Does this process works? Almost 69 percent of people had achieved this process well with 45 percent of productivity.
The major reason behind this is that managers can make improved performance for better analyzing processes. Many organizations like Nissan, United Airlines, and Volvo constructions had made usage of this technique as a tool for improved performances. The best benchmarking partner would be the IBM. It has chosen pretty unusual task. Many of the hospital have also benchmarked their admission processes against the Marriott Hotel. The manufacturer always said that mass markets from the casual wears have their self-good quality and valuable products sell. Companies like Spencer make usage of Limited Brands for point to point selling. Exhibit PM-2 is well suitable for illustrating the benchmarking scheme.
Links of Previous Main Topic:-
- management and organizations a managers dilemma
- Understanding managements context constraints and challenges
- Managing in a global environment
- Managing diversity
- What is social responsibility
- Managing change and innovation
- Managers as decision makers
- Foundations of planning
- Strategic management
Links of Next Fundamentals of Management Topics:-
