B120 An Introduction to Business Studies TMA01 By Roy Burnham PI C3785761 Part I – Report on Lodge Bistro (a) Identifying the problem My chosen session is 4.0 Business Cultures. Culture is a business metaphor that is used to provide insight into a business. The Lodge Bistro is experiencing the following problems: • The increased autonomy given to the café managers has resulted in a loss of control and inconsistency with regard to staff recruitment, staff training, product and physical appearance. • The business sector has seen the introduction of competition successfully using an updated French Bistro format. Younger customers have been attracted to this fresher approach leaving Lodge Bistro with an older customer base.
It is all too easy for a business to remain with what has always worked in the past. It is important to constantly assess who their customers are and offer what will appeal to them. The political context of the recession has also decreased the amount of trade, we are told in the case study that ‘the business faced an increasingly threatening external environment as the economy moved into recession.’ Customers are becoming more concerned with the corporate social responsibility, this is possibly one of the reasons that certain coffee house chains were taking customers from Lodge Bistro, Costa Coffee for example make it very clear they support the developing world, they state on their website that ‘We're committed to looking after our coffee-growers. That's why in 2006, we set up the Costa Foundation.’ As ‘the role of business is primarily economic’ Preston, D., Fryer, M., Watson, G. (2012) P28, it is important to keep the stakeholders in the form of Joyce Lodge and other investors happy by continuing to make a profit. In order
Economic:- * The recession, spending has dropped, particularly among the elderly customer base of the chain. * Increasing competition which the Lodge has failed to keep up with. Part B:- An ideal model to use for understanding the range of issues involved here is the SWOT model. By analysing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the business, we can identify key areas of improvement whilst acknowledging the positive points and working toward improving all areas. Strengths:- Focus on consistent quality throughout the brand, although less prominent now, is a great strength, one poor chain can have a detrimental effect on the business.
Deleting players from the distribution chain can be risky, but results in a reduction in operating costs and improved margins (Strickland, 1999). Dell’s focus is listening to the customer and providing a service that provides the needs and wants of the customer. Michael Dell encountered resistance in his management teams. The management teams forced their views and opposed to listening to what the customer wanted and needed (Krames, 2003, p. 59). Dell survived the technology bust of 2001, and improved the company’s market share by providing a better-quality product and beat the competitors through quick delivery and meeting the customer needs (Krames, 2003, p. 63).
On the other hand you also increase your competitors’ online traffic. Same reason as using exclusive content it’s easy to search for the quality content online so if The Times couldn’t provide quality content for everyone its online traffic would definitely drop. For example, SelectTimes experienced the same situation when the online advertising was growing so The Times ended the SelectTimes model. The current paywall can avoid dramatically traffic dropping by offering 20 free articles and the articles shared on social media. Therefore, The Times can avoid online advertising revenue dropping.
By expanding into the market of low cost tax accounting services this firm will be able to remain competitive and profitable. To successfully complete this goal, the company will hire non-Certified Public Accountant (CPA) tax consultants. Non-CPA tax consultants require less compensation than their CPA counterparts, thus aiding in the goal to reduce costs. By hiring non-CPAs, this firm will be adopting an ethical responsibility to clients, the public, and the non-CPA employees. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has published guidance on various ethical issues that may possibly arise from the shift in business strategy in this firm.
Buyer Power Broadway Café is no longer unique commodity. With the Starbucks being on just about every corner and McDonald’s even offering specialty coffees; the buyer is overload with choices and availability. In order to save my business, I must create a competitive advantage by developing a loyalty system. My loyalty system will need to attract the buyer to my business more often that my competitors. Since I am small business, my loyalty program cannot be large scale.
Business Pro Consultants Memorandum To: Better World Books Executives From: Business Pro Consulting Team Date: 25 September 2013 Subject: Better World Books Business Recommendation Mr. Murphy and Executives, Included below are our recommendations for a plan of action that can help you and your team achieve new profit levels while increasing awareness of and participation in your social mission. Introduction to Issue Better World Books is a “not just for profit” company built on a foundation of good business strategy and a great social mission. Although Better World Books was created on such a strong foundation, the overlying structure appears to be weakening and if actions are not taken to prevent the weathering, the company may fail. The weathering appears to be
Managers who failed to follow the rules either changed their ways quickly or were sacked. | Inexperienced staff, food and service quality are below the standards set by the company. | One method of undertaking a SWOT analysis is to consider strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in relation to two different times: until Joyce Lodge retired and when Patricia became to be manager of Lodge Bistro. It can be seen from Table 1 that the main weaknesses arise when Patricia decided, the most important thing is the culture of an organization than formal structures, rules and regulations.
SWOT Analysis 19 4.1 JCP 20 4.2 MACY’S 21 5. Recommendation 22 Reference: 24 1. Introduction With the shopping season approaching, the retail industry is drawing attention again from the business world especially when the recession still undergoing in the States. The retail industry experienced a long history before developed to the scale of today. Although it not always brings surprise to the fasting changing business world like new technology, it is crucial not only to the GDP and also important to everybody’s daily life by always being with consumers.