Introduction
This case study which is based on the new marketing strategy for DSS Consulting Company has several questionable facts surrounding it that lead to the main problems in the company. First of all, it is mentioned in the case that there is new management in the company as well as a news organization. It is clear from the case that the staff members are dissatisfied and full of anxiety about what they term as a controversial reorganization of the company. The new organization of the company implemented a new strategy that will aid in the improvement of the company’s revenues leading to its success. The new strategy was proposed due to the inability of the DSS Company to meet the needs of the school districts. The new marketing strategy required a team of consultants who were to work in a particular location to be responsible for developing new offers according to the clients’ needs and provide consulting services. However, the grouping of the consultants in teams brought to light the main challenges that the company is facing internally.
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Identification of the Key Issues
To identify the key issues facing the DSS Company and its current position, a business analysis has to be carried out on the company’s internal and external factors. The analytical tools to be used are the MOST analysis and the Ansoff Matrix. Most analysis involves examining the company’s mission, objectives, strategy, and tactics. This analytical tool comes in handy in identifying the problems in the consulting company and the management and all the staff members to stay focused and accomplish the set goals. The Ansoff matrix analysis is an analytical tool that examines the ideas to develop new products and opening new markets in an organization. This tool analyses the risks involved in the strategies used to accomplish this (Bisk, 2018).
In the findings after the analysis done using the MOST analytical tool, the DSS Company staff are discouraged and losing focus on the vision and objectives of the company. They do not understand their individual responsibilities in achieving the company’s goal. The transition from the old to the new marketing strategy is basically not clear to them. This is definitely due to the lack of support and coordination from the management and other team members. According to the MOST analysis, the leaders and the consultants are not working together as a team to support each other in achieving their objectives. There is a lot of miscommunication among the staff and from the management. One of the issues in the company that kills the staff morale is the negative feedback within the company and the lack of motivation (Bisk, 2018).
There was a need for a new marketing strategy in the DSS consulting company after several changes. The old strategy could not meet the needs of all their clients hence the need for market and product development and diversification. The Ansoff matrix tool of analysis led to findings that the company management did not analyze its options well in assessing the risks accompanied by the need to diversify the services (Bisk, 2018). They came up with a new cross-functional strategy but they did not fully support its implementation.
Alternative Courses of Action
In the issue of lack of teamwork and coordination among staff members, the course of action to be taken by the management of the company is encouraging social activities among staff and mediating disputes (Capozzi, 2018). The DSS Company team members lack support from the leaders including the chief operating officer. The Chief Operating Officer has an obligation to connect with the employees by holding weekly meetings with all employees, doing daily executive rounds, having an open-door policy, and implementing an employee engagement council (Schwantes, 2017). Another key issue that requires a course of action is the lack of employee motivation to work. Several strategies should be put in place to deal with this issue such as implementing recognition programs, the management should identify existing problems and solve them accordingly, and finally adjusting the working environment to be pleasurable and interesting (Sturman and Ford, 2011). On the issue of the staff who are not sure about their responsibilities and are losing focus on the company vision, clear roles of each member should be outlined plus the overall expectations from the staff. Miscommunication in the workplace is a sign of conflict. The management team is responsible for ensuring there is effective communication among employees. This is possible by creating a culture of openness and interpersonal relations (Conrad, 2014). There are many risks associated with the diversification of products or services in a company. For a company to be able to reduce these risks, they have to size the risk and be prepared before implementing a new strategy (Sher, 2012). Finally on the issue of employee dissatisfaction in the company organization; this should be addressed in a way that all the employee’s concerns are heard by the management and addressed because any delay on the matter can lead to low productivity.
Evaluation of the Alternative Courses of Action
Many issues are surrounding the company as has been discussed earlier in the paper. The courses of action highly depend on factors such as the company goals, strategy implementation, financial capabilities product assortment, and personnel capabilities among others. The mentioned alternative courses of action are all important but this section is going to evaluate the courses of action for the primary issues surrounding DSS Company and need immediate attention.
Alternative I
The results produced by working as a team are greater than the efforts of an individual. Therefore if the management encourages teamwork the company will be able to achieve its goals and meets its objectives. The management should also lead by example by implementing an open-door policy that encourages employees to communicate freely and raise there if any. This will also improve the relationship between the COO of the company and the team members. An employee engagement council can also fit in this strategy that will lead to improvement of work culture (Schwantes, 2017). Organizing social activities such as team building events during the weekends will improve coordination and working in the same direction. Considering the mentioned factors, this alternative does not require a lot of money to implement since it is clear that the company also has financial issues. This course of action also points to the direction of the company goal of meeting all the clients’ needs.
Alternative II
Reducing the risks of implementing a new marketing strategy is one of the courses of action to be taken to maximize revenue generation for the company. The customer needs were becoming more diverse hence the need for the company to expand into a diverse customer base strategy (hybrid structure). Dealing with the outcome of a failed strategy implementation due to unassessed risks is more expensive to the company than identifying the risks and taking the necessary preventive measures. Reduction of risks can be done by sizing the risk. This is done by first checking the services offered by competitors and the prices, secondly, the customers that the competitors have, and finally, the marketing trends, what the clients currently prefer (Sher, 2012). This course of action requires the involvement of experts in the consulting area to assist in project development.
Recommendation and conclusion
According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), 67% of employees consider job satisfaction as a very important factor that is resulted from respect and support from the management (DeZube, 2018). In this case, the first alternative to be evaluated is the best course of action that the company should take. This is simply because improves its customer service to its clients. The associates of the employees are the company. Without teamwork, support, coordination, effective communication, and respect among the team members and the management, the company goals and objectives will not be attained. Even if the company comes up with the best strategy, assess the risks, and hire specialists from outside the company, without the unity and coordination of the DSS Company consultants the strategy will fail. This Company needs satisfied team members, not in terms of financial benefits only, but members who are listened to and their concerns addressed accordingly for the successful implementation of the new strategy. The company leaders should know that respect and support to the workers yield job enjoyment and employee satisfaction which results in high productivity.
References
Bisk. (2018). Understanding Key Business Analysis Tools. Retrieved from https://www.villanovau.com/resources/business-analysis/business-analysis-tools/#.W6KhRWgza1t
Capozzi, C. (2018). Five Ways to Improve Teamwork in the Workplace. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/five-ways-improve-teamwork-workplace-13766.html
Conrad, D. (2011). Workplace Communication Problems: Inquiries by Employees and Applicable Solutions. Journal of Business Study Quarterly, 5(4), pp. 105 – 116.
DeZube, D. (2018). The Value of Satisfied affecting the rate of premiums. For instance, an insurance firm that operates with many Employees for your Company | Monster.com. Retrieved from https://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/workforce-management/employee-performance-management/satisfied-employees.aspx
Schwantes, M. (2017). 6 Things Good CEOs Always Do to Connect With competitive advantage. Gilbert (1991) indicated that the manager’s voice in encouraging Employees. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/7-things-good-ceos-always-do-to-connect-with-employees.html
Sher, R. (2012). Reducing the Risks of a Deadly Diversification. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertsher/2012/10/26/reducing-the-risks-of-a-deadly-diversification/#94e4104574c7
Sturman, M., & Ford, R. (2011). Motivating your Staff to Provide Outstanding Service. The Scholarly Commons, pp.142-158. Retrieved from https://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1242&context=articles
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