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The case is an analysis of Giordanos corporate expansion mission

Case summary

The case is an analysis of Giordano’s corporate expansion mission. The case examines what Giordano’s future is and whether it would be beneficial if it maintains its current positioning strategy. The case also analyses the factors that will be essential to Giordano’s success and whether the company’s competitive strengths in merchandise selection and service are can be transferred to the new market. The company willing to retain its success in their existing market, wanted to examine issues that would affect their market entry and factors that will determine their success in the new market. Among the issues that the case presents is whether Giordano should change its present position. The company also debated if the factors that had contributed to the company’s success in their current market should be exercised in the new market.

The report also analyses the company’s background where it explains when and where Giordano was founded. The report records that Giordano initially opened its first retail store in Hong Kong and then expanded to other cities for instance Taiwan through joint venture. The company, according to the report expanded to Singapore later in 1985.

According to the report, the company since its formation used various positioning strategies. In understanding why the company took the options it took, the report analyses management values and Human Resource Policies. According to the report, the company has been willing to try new unconventional ways of doing business. According to the report, strong empowerment has helped the company to grow in various market segments as it believed that suppose it reduced its errors, they could be successful.

Describe and evaluate Giordano’s product, business and corporate strategies.

Giordano has continuously applied and is continuing to apply the facet of marketing which is concerned with the actualization of goods and/or services, as related to the customers’ needs. It was previous argued that a good product or service will sell itself. But in the highly competitive markets of today, there may be no bad products .Therefore the obvious questions regarding product include: Do the products meet the customer’s needs? And if so then what are the features of the products or services that meet the needs of our clients? These questions are best answered by the management as well as the relevant committees assigned with Napster land’s strategic planning.

Giordano has to maximize the use the four P’s which are parameters which the control of marketing, on condition of inner as well as outer constraints related to marketing environment. The goal here is to make decisions that center the four P’s on the customers in the target market in order to produce perceived value and generate a positive response.

Describe and evaluate Giordano’s current positioning strategy. Should Giordano reposition itself against its competitors in its current and new markets, and should it have different positioning strategies for different geographical markets?

A major requirement in business is to capture the attention of the customers by providing them with whatever they require at a meaningful cost. Understanding the customer is a critical aspect in this case since the business would be in a position of working towards the customer expectations. These expectations are best realized by contacting customer research.

To enhance customer relationship, various approaches can be used. First, one can observe the customers in their normal and everyday surrounding. Observing the customers’ normal and their daily life would include establishing their daily opportunities as well as getting to know their expectations. This would make the management work in a way that would meet such expectations. Customer expectations could be established in a friendly way whereby customers are requested to state their satisfaction from the consumption of the provided products or services. The observation could be made through interactive ways such as observing the way customers enjoy the use of the business products or services. The behavior of the customers could as well be observed such as establishing whether customers end up becoming repeat customers.

Again, it would be important to observe the way customers shop and consume the business products or services. Some customers would want to increase the quantity of products they purchase depicting an aspect of satisfaction. Various aspects could enhance customer satisfaction. Some customers would be satisfied by the type of product packaging used while others would be captivated by the quality of customer care services available. The feature that contributes to increased customer satisfaction should be considered. To establish such feature, the use of several prototypes could be used such as observing several packs in the case of packaging as a key factor. Customers would always seem to be attracted by different versions of packaging, which portrays their expectations and level of satisfaction.

The company that operates like Giordano is Yumi Kim which was founded in 2004. Since its formation, the company expanded and currently has more than five retail centers. Yumi mainly deals with cloths just like Giordano.

What are Giordano’s key success factors and spruces of competitive advantage? Are its competitive advantage sustainable, and how would they develop in the future?

The most important thing to know the customer expectations and needs a way of improving the business-customer relationship would be the customer feedback. Using the right prototype to initiate these feedbacks would be a critical consideration (Cross, 2010). The feedbacks would make it possible to understand what the firm has to improve to improve customer satisfaction. This could be done with the use of effective communications systems via the business website, social networks, or personalized communications. The customer could also be involved in developing new ideas via these modes of interactive communication. This is the strategy that it has used.

Again, to understand customers effectively, the researchers should place themselves in the various situations of the customers. This could include having the same experience that customers have or pointing out own experience with respect to an observed behavior form customers (Cross, 2010). Direct experience of what the firm is offering would be of great importance in understanding why some customer would act in certain ways.

Customers are the most important driving factor behind the supermarket retail industry. Even though Giordano is constantly innovating and implementing newer technologies to retain and impress its customers, for customers it is all about convenience and better savings. A customer might be ready to change his supermarket store on the basis of proximity, lower price on particular commodity or better offers. The most significance attribute of Giordano is its dedicated and committed team. It is very much evident when one glances over its financial performance which sits high at a 6.5% greater than the forecast growth. Even the financial services have recorded growth in almost every product for Giordano. Splendid performance and stellar growth has been shown in women attires and grocery.

Could Giordano transfer its key strategies factors to new markets as it expanded both in Asia and other parts of the world?

The strategy that Giordano plans to execute in the future is focused on the customers. Quality, production, cost and capability will be among the areas addressed. The company’s original mission of providing the needed clothes to customers worldwide and to be the leading firm in the clothing industry still remains. Since it is focusing on the customers, their needs and how the products reach them, distribution is top on the formulation process. Giordano plans to apply an offensive approach defending its international business status as the global leader in the heavy industry. Since the company is already stable, established, and delivering, maintaining this impressive performance presents the biggest challenge. Increased financial service options, improved competitive prices and introducing innovation are some of the strategies that will obtain an offensive stance. Timely delivery of products, improved customer relations, and provision of high quality products to the customer is the other approach that targets customer satisfaction and loyalty. Company execution and accountability will also be included in the strategy for the future since it will build trust in the customers. Giordano u has in the past utilized upgrades to fend off competition. The strategy set for the future similarly applies the concept of improvement of quality and reliability.

How do you thing Giordano had/would have to adopt its marketing and operations strategies and tactics when entering and penetrating your country?

The main agenda on the strategy model of Giordano is expansion into the global market. The company has in the recent past and is presently hiring foreign and flexible employees who will help improve the company’s quality and accelerate sales abroad. Given the weakness of the domestic market, Giordano has applied an appropriate strategy to expand. Furthermore, its 2010 impressive profit illustrates the necessity of the company to join the international market as it has gained enough financial recognition to compete with global heavyweights. Additionally, the company aims to expand its product line to include other equipment in line with the needs of the customers.

Placement simply refers to the process through the goods in addition to services reach the customers (the market).This facet is sometimes referred to as Place, implying, a channel through which a product or service gets to the targeted clients. This is a process that involves making decision on the prices of goods and/or services together with the preferred discounts on the products. The objective is to work on a pricing strategy best suited for both the clients and the business firm.

What general lessons can be learned from Giordano for other major clothing retailers in your country?

Strategic management requires assessment of the company’s strengths and weaknesses and the environment’s opportunities and threats. Three countries can be compared as they have competed in the same market for a considerable time. The competitive strategy applied by each company is different from the other. New entrants and competitive companies pose little or no threat to a giant market leader like Giordano. Although, a new entrant might offer a better offer on a particular product, it cannot overtake the hold of Giordano in the Australian market.

The value aspect of the three firms can apply to Giordano in its projected future competitive strategy whereby Giordano plans to improve its quality and reliability. Once the quality of Giordano is guaranteed to improve, the value of the products of the firm will improve consequentially and thereafter the profits realized will reflect the change in value. Value creation applies best in the factors that promote profit realization.

Recommendations

Giordano has opted for a strategy that will give positive feedback but there is uncertainty whether the income statement will reflect the success. The cost incurred in a customer service improvement strategy does not bring immediate and returns to cover for the expenses. A marketing and sales strategy would have been better. The Company has realized success from its quality and reliability improvement strategy in the past therefore the possibility of its strategy to succeed is high. The value aspect of the firms can apply to Giordano in its projected future competitive strategy whereby the Company plans to improve its quality and reliability. Once the quality of Giordano is guaranteed to improve, the value of the products of the firm will improve consequentially and thereafter the profits realized will reflect the change in value. Value creation applies best in the factors that promote profit realization.

Conclusion

Strategic management requires assessment of the company’s strengths and weaknesses and the environment’s opportunities and threats. Three countries can be compared as they have competed in the same market for a considerable time. The competitive strategy applied by each company is different from the other. Giordano has prioritized improvement in quality and reliability as its most utilized strategy. Giordano has merged, created a joint venture, expanded its product line and introduced financial services to offer ranging financial services globally. Giordano plans to focus on improving customer services which may be a long-term strategy that would reflect results later on rather than immediately. Giordano would rather have opted for improved marketing and sales activities which would have realized similar results but in a faster manner. The three companies have achieved a number of their original objectives with Giordano being recognized as the world leading firm in clothing.

southeast medical center review

Case study

Southeast Medical Center Case Study Review

Introduction

Southeast Medical Center, commonly known as SMC, was started in 1920 as a publicly owned hospital. At the beginning it had a capacity of 250 beds. However, it has been on continued expansion process since its establishment increasing not only in the bed capacity but also in the range of activities that it deals with. In fact, by the end of the 6th decade of the 20th century, the hospital had more than doubled its bed capacity. In addition, SMC undertook a variety of missions including research, patient care as well as teaching. Other activities undertaken by the Southeast Medical Center include furnishing transplant, neonatal and burn care in the South east.

Governance responsibility for the Southeast Medical Center

The governance of the medical center has been changing as time goes by. When it was set up, it was under the governance of the hospital board. Later on, the governance of the medical institution was given to the city. Later on, an authority for public hospitals took over the governance in 1980 but was replaced in the 1990’s with the privatization of the institution. The privatization put the management of the hospital in the hands of a board which incorporated 15 members.

Operations of the Southeast Medical Center

The importance of the southeast Medical Center in the region cannot be gainsaid. To start with, the facility undertakes referral services both in the region as well as internationally. With not less than 800 beds for acute care as well as having community centers at many places, the institution has enhanced access. The southern Medical Center also engages in provision of programs, information as well as educational resources in an effort to enable the residents maintain their health and fitness. Statistics show that forty percent of patients served by the facility are not from the county.

The southeast medical Center is also used by the university in the locality as its main teaching hospital. In addition, the hospital is used by community colleges and the university in their graduate, baccalaureate as well as associate programs as a clinical site.

Southeast Medical Center incorporates a medical plan which enables the poor to access healthcare. In this case, the medical center is refunded all the expenses for the medical services while costs and rates are reduced in such instances. However, this program has been substantially dropping in the recent times with the state freezing the plan in 1996.

Privatization of the Southeast Medical Center and its implications

In the late 1990s, the medical center underwent privatization. In this endeavor, there were some predictions pertaining to the benefits. The privatization was meant to reduce the impact of political pressure on the operations of the center, lower the tax as well as the regulatory burden, increase the institution’s capacity to obtain funds from donors as well as prop its ability to create joint ventures. As much as these are desirable benefits, it is important to acknowledge that there was a downside too. To start with, the mission of the medical center would change along with a reduction of the charity care and public scrutiny. All these loop sides had implications on the future of the institution.

Results of the Southeast Medical Center Privatization

According to predictions, the medical center was supposed to make enormous profits once it was privatized. However, this was not to happen as the institution had big losses. Officials attributed this to the laws relating to the federal budget and the increase in patients who received managed care services.

However, it is noted that the main cause of the losses was the privatized entity’s inability to handle lien authority. Note that the hospital did not automatically get lien authority once it was privatized. A red flag had been raised on this issue but had been dismissed as a non-issue by the management as well as consultants. In addition, the privatization resulted in loss of financial protection enjoyed by government agencies. In this case, the institutions can be taken to courts of law. Plans have been underway to grant the lien authority to the Southern Medical Center though it has been a bit difficult.

Recommendations

There was clearly a change in the medical center’s mission as testified by the presiding chief executive officer. Provision of medical services to the poor at subsidized rates had ceased to be the institution’s mission. As much as there may have been justifications for this action, county officials acknowledged that there was an element of laxity in considering other pertinent issues. They solely depended on the calculations of the new chief executive officer as to the profits that would be reaped from the privatization. The officials also rue the absence of effective methods of ensuring that the hospital does not renege on its obligation to offer treatment to the poor. In addition, the county had overlooked the fact that the privatization would result to an added burden as there was not a clear mechanism to punish the center if it did not commit to the contractual lease agreement.

It is from these observations that the following recommendations are made.

Incorporation of flexibility in all the structure of the organization

Executives in healthcare systems should give way to more flexibility in the medical institutions to enable them to be more responsive to the particular markets. In this endeavor the vision of the institution should be well understood as well as laid out clearly to allow for more understanding of the implications as well as the benefits by not only the staff but also the clients o r customers.

Flexibility should be exhibited in the flow of information, the structure of the organization as well as process of making decision. This would definitely result to better as well as effective utilization of the resources at the hospital’s disposal. It is acknowledged that after the privatization, employee layoffs were experienced not to mention sale of their property (Raymond, Bruce, 1993). In this endeavor, the medical center should have focused its energies on the organizational resources and not the resources themselves. It is evident that the new CEO of Southeast Medical Center was more concerned about the resources that were being used in the provision of the free or discounted medical plans for the poor rather than the organizational structures of the hospital. This is one aspect that the officials of the county overlooked when they considered the proposal of the CEO without ensuring there was the right infrastructure to safeguard SMCs part of the agreement.

Incorporating flexibility in the handling of information produces more validity as the models can be restructured to suit the situations.

Strategic planning and its proper consultations within the institutions of the organization.

The formal development of a strategic plan was a necessity in the system. This also underscores high interaction between all the institutions concerned. The utility of incorporating a well thought out strategic plan cannot be gainsaid. It results in better decisions, enhanced capacity and energy as pertaining to rallying all behind the cause as well as more customer satisfaction. (Robert, 1994). Obviously, this was not the case with the medical institution’s strategies. A strategic plan provides a sense of direction to the organization while allowing for adherence to the mission. When the team appointed to reverse the situation set camp, it succeeded due to the collaboration with community and political groups in generating more revenue from the state to cater for indigent care. Good strategic planning involves a lot of communication in an effort to make decisions based on understanding of the consequences. This is something that was overlooked by the privatization advocates. They definitely did not consider the process of transferring the lien authority and any delays.

Looking into the customer satisfaction infrastructures

The system should come up with a simple, responsive, lean, customer driven, focused as well as flat organizational structure.

One thing that you will acknowledge is that the hospital had foregone its original mission. In 1999, a new team of officials were appointed with the mandate to turn around the fortunes of the institution. One of its areas of focus was the patients as well as the physician’s needs. Incorporating the physicians in the teams of leadership had the effect of shifting the focus to provision of clinical care of high quality. The shift was no longer on the issues pertaining to organizational structures or legal matters. The new officials incorporated the key mission in the vision thus contributed to the organization’s turnaround.

Conclusion

The importance of sharing information between all the arms concerned cannot be gainsaid. The Southeastern Medical Center underwent a lot of transformation and incurred heavy losses due to the incorporation of a strategic plan that was not well thought out as well as moving away from the time tested mission of the institution. It is evident that the management had lost touch with the aspect of customer satisfaction.

All the stakeholders have to be vigilant and incorporate the appropriate measures to ensure that the interests of the public are taken into consideration and safeguarded.

References

Raymond, Bruce1993. Industrial Management. London, UK.

John, E. 1999. The importance of strategic planning,