Discussion of Changes in Business and Economy Essay Example
Discussion of Changes in Business and Economy Essay Example

Discussion of Changes in Business and Economy Essay Example

Available Only on StudyHippo
  • Pages: 8 (2134 words)
  • Published: September 26, 2017
  • Type: Research Paper
View Entire Sample
Text preview


Introduction

Changes are inevitable in our world and are essential for life to progress. This is also true for our economic system. The energy that drives these changes is well controlled and constant. As changes occur, growth and progress take place in every aspect of life, including the economy. When drastic changes occur, it is called transformation, and each of these transformations in the economy is known as an epoch, which are identified by different names. The very first economic era began during the agricultural epoch when basic business concepts of profit and loss were introduced.

Before the agricultural era, transactions occurred through the exchange of goods based on individual necessities. The world has undergone a long process of economic transformation, including the Industrial era, Technological era, and the current Knowledge era. In today's time, knowledge and infor

...

mation are viewed as crucial aspects in the business world. After changes in the economy, we will now discuss the importance of changes in business. If business operations do not adapt to meet the needs, economic transformation will never occur.

Now we will explore the present economic state that has necessitated every business organization to enact modifications in order to mitigate its adverse consequences. We will illustrate this discussion using the Supermarket industry as an example.

LO 1

Supermarkets have been an integral component of not only the U.K.'s economy but also the economies of numerous developed countries, with a particular emphasis on their significant role in the U.K.

Supermarkets play a significant role in the economic system, contributing more than 8% of total income, which justifies their influence on people's lives. Both internal and external factors have an

View entire sample
Join StudyHippo to see entire essay

impact on various aspects of supermarkets, with external changes having a greater influence. These external changes encompass environmental, social, political, technological, and economic factors. While some changes bring positive effects like environmental stability and changing social trends that contribute to growth along with favorable economic conditions, negative impacts such as the ongoing recession have severely affected supermarkets. Many are experiencing declining profits while others have been forced to close down entirely. The collapse of Woolworth's serves as a notable example in recent history. Furthermore, Waitrose's introduction of the "Essential Line" shows that the supermarket industry is actively striving to reduce costs.


LO 2



Bureaucratic organisation:


The most important characteristic of the bureaucratic system is hierarchy, authorization and duties. This characteristic ensures that there are different levels of subdivisions with clear distribution of duties that remain consistent and authority increases from bottom to top.


The strengths:


Employees adhere to the organizational guidelines, which provide clear descriptions of their duties and obligations. This eliminates confusion and is a significant advantage of the bureaucratic system.

The construction divided into divisions is another influential strength as it allows the comprehensive undertaking to be transformed into smaller and less complex occupations.


Failing:


There is adequate background for no development of the sense of answerabilities in employees as with this design of system they purely remained concerned with their own plants and duties and never inclined to think further beyond that. In any instance if any of them think so, there is no space for him or her to do so due to the restricted

power and spot Orthodox system construction. On the whole, the same features of the bureaucratic organisations which provide the platform for strengthening the concern, provide the platform for weakening it as well. The system could prove ideal if it is implemented with its heart, by right people and with right purpose.

Despite being an ancient method of management, many large businesses still use it and achieve great results.

LO 3

There are various models used to bring about change in business management, one of which is Kaizen. Although originally a Japanese approach, it has been accepted worldwide. The Kaizen model refers to the continuous change in management, tailored to fit different cultural and geographical contexts. In simpler terms, Kaizen involves reorganizing and re-systematizing all departments in order to maximize effectiveness. It focuses on identifying problems and finding the best solutions to improve those areas. In this case, utilizing the Kaizen model can help identify the issue for Lidl; their market is concentrated in supermarkets.

Subsequent to the job designation is the program out the job solution procedure which has been discussed as under.


Options for alteration in direction schemes:


All the external alterations affect the supermarkets in one or another manner but the type of alterations which can impact the most are the economical which has been proved by the on-going recession. Economies of many developed states saw a drastic autumn and so hold been dead due to the recession. Supermarkets of U.K.

Nonetheless, supermarkets are not exempt from these effects. Although it is not possible to completely eliminate these effects, they can be reduced by implementing reasonable and dedicated efforts.

Supermarkets can benefit to some extent by making changes at various levels. Currently, supermarkets attract consumers by offering various promotions such as buy one get two or three and so on. I propose that they should enhance their offers by partnering with vacation companies or clubs, introducing a strategy where customers who spend a specific amount within a certain period will be rewarded with a vacation stay at any of the affiliated club's locations. Supermarkets can also renovate specific sections such as the children's zone or the elderly zone, both in terms of infrastructure and product range.

The merchandise ranges should be more specific for different markets in terms of customer groups. By doing this, they can bring some variation in the ways of market placement and gain promotion, more customers, and ultimately increase in sales.


Suggested changes in current scenario:


They can opt for introducing the Online Selling and doorstep delivery facilities for the buyers which will reduce lots of problems for consumers as in busy life routine it is getting more and more hectic. In fact, though all the other changes are reasonable enough, this one is the best option considering its long term and extensive positive effects. The reasons are simple enough to understand that firstly the online selling system is easy to set-up and not much expensive for the organization and secondly it is far more convenient and time-saving for the consumers.

To increase their sales, supermarkets should consider implementing the strategy introduced in Learning Outcome 4: Lidl. Lidl is a European supermarket chain that has established a strong presence in the UK and

various other countries. Originating as a wholesale grocery business in Germany back in 1930, it has expanded to encompass over 380 stores throughout Europe.

Lidl's progress has been steady but slow, lacking an aggressive approach. They need to make improvements in their strategies and operations in order to compete with the top supermarkets. The first part of their plan will focus on implementing changes in their system, specifically the development of an Online Selling System. The second part will involve targeting untapped markets and modifying their product ranges accordingly.


Plan of Change:


Lidl will implement two types of alterations: the establishment of an Online Selling System and modifying their product ranges for untapped markets. They have two separate plans to address these major changes.

Plan 1 (Online selling system): The plan entails introducing online shopping as the most significant change. This will be accompanied by the implementation of home delivery services for online buyers, with a minimum charge of ?3 per delivery. These services will be accessible for orders that surpass 60 pounds. Plan 2 divides the program into three sections to explore other untapped markets.

Plan 2 ( Modification in merchandise scope harmonizing to demands of possible market ) : The 2nd program will be divided into four stages which are detailed under.

Information accretion: In 2nd portion which will be divided into four parts, the first portion will be to construct the evidences on the bases of information. The information is required to hold an thought about the uncultivated markets and will be collected by demographic survey. The tool of demographic survey will be used to cognize the demands of the

people for which they have to make accommodations or they have to take option other than the supermarkets. The research will be manus over to the external professionals who will transport out it in localities of all the mercantile establishments of the Lidl.

Rivals: Rivals ever have great impact on concern with their schemes, their merchandise, their credibleness merchandise 's monetary value etc.

Even their operational standards can have an impact and if they adopt a policy with better performance, it could pose significant issues for Lidl, so they need to be careful when implementing these changes. This situation can be managed by maintaining good operational standards and striving for uniqueness in supermarket operations.

Evaluation:



Plan 1:


To overcome stagnation, the proposed changes will be a great move and give an organization the opportunity to move forward with relatively low expenses. The most promising change, an online shopping system, will expand its customer base at significantly lower costs. Although there will be some initial investment, this is a relatively cheaper and effective way of expanding the market compared to opening too many physical stores.

For those struggling to manage their time for various activities, this will be a valuable gift. When purchasing household goods for everyday needs, people will appreciate it more than happiness, as they would have to spend more than 60 ? on those items. They need to plan out their needs in order to reduce the burden of personally going to the supermarket.


Plan 2:


New market and product range developments, targeting specific customer groups with similar advanced needs and better performance, will definitely benefit the organization. We are aware that there are still many products for which people have

to find alternative sources or make compromises. The objective of this plan is to identify those items and the specific markets that cater to groups of people with similar needs.

Despite focusing on highly demanded points, Lidl could achieve significant growth in net income and gain a competitive edge by prioritizing these designations. However, if not implemented efficiently, these suggested changes could result in a disaster. It is crucial for management to recognize that employees and consumers play key roles in determining the outcome of these changes and should be treated with respect.
LO 5
In the business world, constant research is conducted to find preferred models of organizational changes. This research primarily focuses on the approach to changes and the stages involved. Most organizations select a model that aligns with their background and needs.

According to Dunphy and Stace, organizations should select a flexible model that can adapt to different situations and produce optimal outcomes. They emphasize the importance of continually monitoring implemented changes and assessing their overall effectiveness within the surrounding context. Given the significance of managing the change process, it is necessary to explore various models developed as frameworks for organizational changes, such as Judson, Kotter, Cumings and Huse, Bullock and Batten, among others. While Lewin's model's importance remains uncertain since many other models also rely on it, it has been adopted in this project for implementing new changes in the organization. Lewin's model emphasizes three situational stages for managing organizational changes: unfreezing, which can be accomplished through psychological or motivational approaches or by establishing new operational frameworks within the organization.

  • In the traveling stage, emphasis was previously placed on altering organizational behaviors or culture including
  • departmental and operational models.The text describes the process of implementing changes in an organization. It includes modifying procedures and introducing new behaviors and rules. The goal is to maintain stability in performance with the modified organizational model. This implementation strategy will be divided into various stages, starting with gathering data on people's habits, needs, and instances where they have to shop somewhere other than the supermarket. This data will be collected for people living near Lidl stores, with assistance from a professional research company. The analysis of this data will be conducted by Lidl's management team while considering the analysis provided by the research company.

    The main areas of interest for precise analysis will be the number of old age people and their jobs while shopping, as well as their demands. Additionally, differences in demand will be explored due to different beginnings, regional habits, etc. Budgeting is another crucial activity that must be done alongside data collection. It will determine the costs for each activity, ranging from system development to supporting online shopping, as well as the cost of selected articles and promotions. To find ideal suppliers, the finance section will approach existing supplier chains and other preferred providers to understand their quality standards and terms, which will be compared using stamps.

    Recruitments: The HR section will recruit skilled employees for the implementation of the Online Selling System.

    Get an explanation on any task
    Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
    New