Relationship Management Is a Waste of Resources Essay Example
Relationship Management Is a Waste of Resources Essay Example

Relationship Management Is a Waste of Resources Essay Example

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Relationship management involves ongoing engagement between an organization and its audience, such as customers, suppliers, regulators, media, and government. This process aims to establish a partnership between the organization and its audience. Claiming that relationship management is a waste of resources is deceptive because it forms the foundation for sustainable growth and ensures business survival even in challenging circumstances.

Effective management of relationships between an organisation and its stakeholders is crucial for its success. It is imperative to proactively manage these relationships rather than leaving them to chance. Among the various stakeholders, customers hold the utmost importance. Thus, it is essential to manage relationships with customers diligently. By proactively managing customer relationships, an organisation can gain a thorough understanding of their expectations and requirements. Sustaining an organisation becomes possible when it anticipates and fulfills the needs of its customers consi

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stently, ensuring a continuous market for its products and services.

Relationship management is an important and resource-intensive process for organizations to understand and fulfill customer needs. It requires ongoing engagement with customers as their needs are constantly evolving. This continuous engagement enables organizations to always be ready to meet changing needs. From the customer's perspective, relationship management is not about forcefully offering products but instead involves anticipating their needs and satisfying them through ongoing interaction.

Maintaining strong relationships with suppliers is critical for organizations as it directly impacts the quality, timeliness, and availability of supplies which ultimately affect the product or service. Therefore, investing in maintaining excellent relations with suppliers at all times is essential. Neglecting to continuously engage with suppliers can result in a decline in the quality of supplies. Regular contact and consistent engagement enable companies to

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ensure the delivery of high-quality products.

As an example, if a bank decides to upgrade from standard ATM cards to more secure chip cards, it must consider customer security concerns. However, if the bank does not regularly communicate with its ATM machine vendor, the new chip cards may not be compatible with the existing machines. Additionally, the supplier may fail to install the necessary interface for compatibility. This oversight could lead to costly consequences for the bank, as it neglected to maintain a good relationship with its supplier and produced cards that cannot be used with the existing machines.

If there is relationship management in place, discussions about future developments, such as upgrading to chip cards, would have led to the evaluation of whether the current ATM terminals are compatible with chip cards. Based on this assessment, a business decision would be made regarding the potential need to replace ATM terminals. Effective management of supplier and service provider relationships also ensures support during times of crisis as suppliers may continue to provide goods or services even when payments are delayed. Additionally, internal relationship management within an organization is crucial.

Internally, relationship management involves comprehending the individual employee's role within the company and the roles of various departments or units. If there is no ongoing interaction, employees and units will operate independently, resulting in a lack of mutual support that hampers the company's ability to effectively serve customers. In the absence of relationship management among business units, customers who initially reach out to a specific department, such as production, may not be informed about other departments responsible for sales or credit which directly handle accounts.

If there is relationship management

between units, production would understand the importance of transferring a customer to either the credit or sales department, depending on their specific needs. Each employee would have a broader perspective of the organization and recognize that prioritizing customers is essential for everyone. It would be the goal of all employees to provide exceptional service to the next unit, as this is crucial for ensuring customer satisfaction. Relationship management also involves management anticipating and meeting the needs of employees to ensure their productivity and ability to deliver high-quality service to customers.

Management should make an effort to comprehend employee priorities. If employees prioritize safety in the workplace, management should guarantee a safe work environment. For instance, in a mining setting, employees will feel more at ease with safety helmets, safety boots, air cleaners, and dust extractors. In certain economies, job security may be employees' top priority. Therefore, for employees to effectively serve customers, employers must provide job security. Additionally, employers must actively involve employees so they understand the employer's expectations.

Both employers and employees need to be proactive in managing their relations. Neglecting these relationships can lead to job stoppages, employee strikes, high turnover rates, and low morale. This ultimately affects the organization's ability to serve customers effectively, highlighting the importance of relationship management. Similarly, organizations must proactively manage their relationships with the government, regulators, and licensing authorities. The nature and size of the organization's operations determine the need to establish and manage these relationships.

In light of the operating environment, it is imperative to proactively handle stakeholder relations. Zimplats, a mining giant, must acknowledge the significance of maintaining favorable ties with the government. Neglecting this responsibility could lead

to the government reclaiming mining claims. It is in the company's best interest to conform to government policies and actions and mitigate potential repercussions while upholding professionalism.

The company must actively engage with tax authorities and regulators in order to manage its relationships effectively. By maintaining continuous engagement, the company can avoid being garnished by ZIMRA as an example. A good relationship with ZIMRA also means that they will inform the company about upcoming tax payment deadlines. Additionally, the company can communicate its challenges in meeting deadlines to ZIMRA, potentially even obtaining an extension. Without proper relationship management, the company may suddenly discover one day that its accounts have been garnished.

The inability to pay suppliers, service providers, and employees will have a detrimental effect on the business operations and reputation, as it will result in a failure to deliver to customers. Additionally, the importance of relationship management is evident in the media sector. While most news media professionals act ethically and appropriately, misunderstandings can occur when there is a disconnect between a company and a reporter. Therefore, it is crucial for organizations to comprehend the behavior of stakeholders in the media industry.

Not understanding these relationships properly can result in incorrect or unfavorable interpretations of the organization. It is essential for a company to establish connections with media outlets that might publish stories about the organization, as this will create familiarity in case of a crisis and help manage any potential damage to the company's reputation. Moreover, building these relationships is beneficial even when seeking positive attention, as without effective management, negative publicity may overshadow positive coverage. Managing these relationships can also require significant resources.

Relationship management necessitates

resources, time, and effort as every process in this domain demands them. It is crucial to acknowledge that disregarding relationship management would result in even more significant losses. Neglecting the investment in relationship management could lead to inferior service levels, diminished employee morale, uncooperative regulators and licensing authorities, as well as disruptions from suppliers and service providers. The advantages of relationship management outweigh the expenses substantially. Hence, considering relationship management a squandering of resources is inaccurate.

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