Marketing Analysis of Westfarmers Australian Company - Case Study Example

Westfarmers Case Study Student’s Name: Course: Professor: Date: Contents Westfarmers Case Study 1 Contents 2 Introduction 3 Objective of the report 3 Report sections 3 External environment analysis 4 General environment 4 Economic conditions 4 Natural environment conditions 4 Specific/ Task environment 5 Customers 5 Competitors 5 Planning& strategy formulation and implementation 6 Swot analysis 6 Strengths 6 Weakness 7 Opportunities 7 Threats 7 Planning growth& development strategies 7 Strategic, Tactical plans& Operations Plans 8 Ethical behaviors and social responsibility 8 Corporate social responsibility 9 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction Westfarmers is a public company in Australia which is ranked among the largest retailers in the country. The company was formed in 1914 as a farmer’s cooperative and grew to its current size being one of the largest employers. The corporation has diversified operations which cover supermarkets, coal mining, office supplies and insurance among others. The corporation has many operations and businesses in other countries. The main objective of the corporation is to make sure that they give the required returns to its shareholders. One of the major acquisitions of the company was in 2007 when they acquired Coles Group Limited. The company has continued to increase in size and diversification through acquiring other businesses strategically. The company has been transformed from being farmers cooperative to a large company with more than 200,000 workers (Wesfarmers Limited, 2013). Objective of the report The main objective of the report is to look at the Westfarmers CEO management. This will be achieved by looking on the way he has helped the company grow to be the biggest retailer and maintain the market. Report sections The report starts with brief overview of the company. The next section looks at the company external environment both general and specific. These details gives insight on how the company operating environment. The customers, competitors give more detail on the company operations through management efforts. The last section deals with the company SWOT analysis and development strategies. All these are liked to the CEO efforts in leading the company to success. External environment analysis General environment Economic conditions The management of Westfarmers has been keen on the external environment. One of the areas that have been looked at is economic conditions in the country as well as globally. The recent upheavals in the world economy have affected many of the business. The global financial crisis was one of the major economic problems. This was a clear illustration of how unstable the global market is. Westfarmers being involved in business worldwide suffered the adverse effects (Schermerhorn et al, 2012). The fact that the company managed to survive the economic crisis shows how stable and well managed it is. The prices of coal among other commodities fell in value and exports were cheaper than imports. Despite the crisis, the company survived. The economic condition of the country is stable and with good management of Richard Goyder, the company has a bright future (Gooderham, Nordhaug & Ringdal, 2006). Natural environment conditions Westfarmers is involved in industrial activities among other activities that can impact environment. The management has taken steps to make sure that they minimize their impact to the environment. The management has ensured that they take care of the environment in which they operate. Under leadership of Richard Goyder, the company operations are carried out in such a manner that they have less environmental impact (Wesfarmers Limited, 2013). The management has managed the green gas emissions, using renewable energy, waste management and site contamination. The company has given all information regarding their environmental protection activities in their site (Schermerhorn et al, 2012). Specific/ Task environment Customers These are the specific groups or clients who buy the company products as well as services. Westfarmers has a wide range of clients due to variety of activities they are involved with. The customers range from insurance clients, home supplies customers, industrial goods customers and chemical, energy and fertilizers buyers. These are among many customers who are part of the Westfarmers subsidiaries. The company is committed to provision of quality services to the customers. The customers’ satisfaction is one of the main concerns of the company CEO which he has done to make a healthy business environment (Wesfarmers Limited, 2013). Competitors The company has several competitors in the market of its subsidiaries. The retail market competition is tough which requires the company CEO to be innovative to have a competitive edge. The main competitors include Woolworths and Amazon. The main advantage that gives Westfarmers a competitive edge is their great size. The company CEO has made sure that the company continues to expand in size through acquisitions. The CEO has also made the company strong through innovations and creativity (Schermerhorn et al, 2012). Planning& strategy formulation and implementation The company CEO has ensured that the company has a well planned strategy. This involves strategic management process which involves, planning, formulation and implementing. This has helped the company achieve their goals through leadership of Richard Goyder. The company has evaluated its capabilities, constraints and the operating environment. The company has formulated its strategies through modifying the strategies and objectives. The three aspects of strategy formulation have been well looked at. These aspects are corporate level strategy, competitive strategy and functional strategy (Schermerhorn et al, 2012). Swot analysis The company SWOT analysis reveals what the CEO should be aware of corncering the company. The company is one of the largest retailers which enable it to retain the market despite the competition. Strengths Being a large retailer, the company has a competitive advantage. The company collects a lot of revenue from its subsidiaries in each year. This makes the company have few competitors as compared to the other retailers. The company acquisition of other related business puts it in a good position in the market. The company has a great base of loyal customers who ensure continuity. This is due to a strong brand name that has been created over the years by the company and the subsidiaries (Wesfarmers Limited, 2013). Weakness The company still faces competition from other retailers such as Wal-Mart and Woolworths. These are multinational who also owns multiple stores with similar products. There are also limitations in expansion due to space in urban areas (Wesfarmers Limited, 2013). Opportunities There are emerging markets in Asian countries especially China and India. In the recent years, internet retailing has been growing at a high rate. Online sales are expected to reach more people as technology grows (Wesfarmers Limited, 2013). Threats The high number of employees poses an increase in wage bill and health care expenses (Williams, 2002). Some countries have a high minimum wage which can lead to increased wage bill for multinationals. This threatens Westfarmers efficiency and performance. There is also a threat from the volatility in commodity prices. This is due to inflation in some countries (Wesfarmers Limited, 2013). Planning growth& development strategies The company CEO has been able to run corporate level strategy in the company. This is due to fact that the company operates in different areas. This has been carried out through adherence to corporate governance policies. The company has acquired several subsidiaries with Coles being the biggest acquisition. The main strategy is to be the biggest retailer so as to maintain a competitive edge. The strategy helps the company to expand the client base and hence more profit. Through the leadership of the company CEO, there has been witnessed increase in size of the company (Wesfarmers Limited, 2013). Strategic, Tactical plans& Operations Plans Being a multinational company, Westfarmers have workforce from different nationality. The company CEO has put in place measures against discrimination as well as fair pay terms for all the employees. The workforce has made sure that the workforce is well motivated regardless of their nationality. This is through attractive pay package and good working environment. To manage workforce from different cultural background requires a management that has multicultural experience (Wesfarmers Limited, 2013). The globalised industries require leaders who can be able to cope and work with diverse cultures (Robbins & Coulter, 2005). This has been evidenced through leadership of Richard Goyder. Ethical behaviors and social responsibility The company CEO has made sure that the company follows high standards of ethics in their workplace. This has been done through adopting procedures that are acceptable both locally and internationally. One of ethical dilemmas the company faced is waste management from its subsidiaries. It’s against the environment protection act to dispose waste that can lead to environmental deterioration. The company being involved in activities such as mining had to make sure that they comply with environmental laws. The company CEO has elaborate plans in waste disposal and management. The company has been able to reduce waste management by safe disposal (Wesfarmers Limited, 2013). Corporate social responsibility Westfarmers have adopted social responsibilities strategies and practices. Social responsibility and practices involves being involved with the society in making projects that helps their lives. The company has been involved in fundraising toward Royal Doctor Services among other activities. For the company to thrive in diversified communities, it has to be able to cope and integrate with the communities. The company is also involved in communities’ events through partnerships. The company CEO is committed to helping the society through the company activities (Maley & Kramar, 2010). Conclusion Richard Goyder is one of the most admired CEO due to his work at Westfarmers. He has been able to make the company a leader in the retail market both regionally and international. Through his leadership, the company has been able to follow the legal procedures and has helped the community in a great way. Corporate leadership needs a leader who can adapt easily to changes and take new opportunities such as Richard Goyder has done. The business world is changing rapidly with globalization. The leadership should be transformational as demonstrated by Richard Goyder. References Gooderham, P., Nordhaug, O & Ringdal, K 2006, ‘National embeddedness and calculative human resource management in US subsidiaries in Europe and Australia’, Human Relations, Vol.59, no.1, p. 1491-1513. Maley, J & Kramar, R 2010, ‘International human resource management structures and their effect on the Australian subsidiary’, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 48, no.3, Pp. 26-44. Robbins, S & Coulter, M 2005, Management, Upper Saddle River, NJ, Pearson Prentice Hall. Schermerhorn, J.R., Davidson, P., Poole, D., Simon, A., Woods, P & Chau, S 2012, Management Foundations and Applications, London, John Wiley & Sons. Wesfarmers Limited 2013, Westfarmers.com, Viewed 7th Jan 2013, Williams, S 2002, Making better business decisions: Understanding and improving critical thinking and problem solving skills, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Read More