Discussion 1: Surf Shop Comparison
Access the web sites of Ron Jon Surf Shop and Hilo Hattie. Explain how the two companies are similar and how they are different. Can you find elements of organizational planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and control in their web content? Provide specific examples. Respond substantively to two other learners.
Guided Response:
Your initial post should be at least 200 words in length. Support your claims with examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references. Respond substantively to at least two of your classmates' posts.
Holli Vincent
Ron Jon Surf Shop vs Hilo Hattie's
Ron Jon Surf Shop offers its customers clothes for men women and children, skateboards and accessories, surfboards and accessories, beach accessories, souvenirs and sale items.
Hilo Hattie's offers customers clothes for men, women and children, island jewelry, accessories, gift cards, fresh fruit, flowers and souvenirs.
I see elements of organization as Ron Jon Surf Shop, as well as Hilo Hattie's because they both "deliver goods and services that offer value to consumers in exchange for money, normally expressed as sales and other revenues". (Baak, Reilly & Minnick. 2014).
Ron Jon's addresses staffing by recruiting employees, listing career opportunities and explaining benefits offered. Ron Jon Surf Shop offers its employees PTO, health insurance (medical, dental, vision and life), after 60 days and a 401k plan. They have a supplemental education plan, employee discounts, jury duty pay and direct deposit.
Hilo Hattie's has a career opportunity page but doesn't spell out any benefits offered. Ron Jon's has put a lot more effort into recruiting than Hilo Hattie's.
"Leading means motivating, coordinating, and energizing individuals and groups to work together to achieve organizational goals". Ron Jon's Ron Jon Surf Shop is involved in the community, active on many social media sites and partners with other local businesses. Their website has a photo gallery and an "about us" page, a search bar and you can create an account. (Baak, Reilly & Minnick. 2014).
Hilo Hattie's offers uniforms for many types of industries on the island. They have "Hawaiian Hut" events where they offer their shirts for group events. They are also active on multiple social media sites. (n.a. 2017).
"Controlling establishes accurate measuring and uses monitoring systems to evaluate how well the organization has achieved its goals". (Baak, Reilly & Minnick. 2014).
Ron Jon's webpage states, "Always searching for the best and brightest in all fields we believe in promotion from within as well as seeking out new talent in all job markets". (Ron Jon's website).
In all, I feel that Ron Jon Surf Shop put a lot more planning and effort into their website. It's user-friendly and strong in organization, staffing, planning, leading and controlling. Hilo Hattie's website is plain and simple, by comparison.
References:
Baak, D., Reilly, M. and Minnick, C. (2014).The Five Functions of Effective Management. 2nd Ed. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
n.a. (n.d). Ron Jon Surf Shop website. Career page. Cocoa Beach, FL.
Ewaldson Francois
Hilo Hattie and Ron Jon surf shop are different and as well similar in many ways. Ron Jon, to begin with, is a surfboard shopping enterprise that deals in the sale of beach outfit. Hilo halite, its competitor, on the other hand, sells the same merchandise just that their products are more Hawaiian styled that Ron Jon's. Secondly, Ron Jon is a global company and is heard about all over the world while Hilo Hattie has only a few stores which are mostly found locally within the country. As much as the two companies differ regarding their outstretched, they both use organizational planning to display their merchandise on their respective websites. This is a sure way of attracting buyers.
Being that Ron Jon is a big company with thirteen stores in different locations, some of the products offered online are different from the ones they offer physically in their stores. This is entirely different from Hilo halite which has only four stores and therefore offers the same products they have in their online store. Finally, the labor force of the two companies also differ. Ron Jon has more staff since it is a big business while Hilo Hattie has fewer staff since it is a small company.
Discussion 2: Company Evaluation
Select one of the companies below and conduct some basic research.
• British Petroleum (BP)
• Facebook
• Hyundai
• Dunkin' Donuts
• Netflix
a. State what you believe is the distinctive competence and core competence of your selected company.
b. Give an example of how the values and mission statement help to shape planning. Also give some internal and external factors that may influence the business in the future and explain how they will influence the business. Respond substantively to two other learners
c. Complete a SWOT Analysis for your selected organization; applying each of the categories in evaluating the company.
Guided Response:
Your initial post should be at least 200 words in length. Support your claims with examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references. Respond substantively to at least two of your classmates' posts.
Aaron Barry
According to our textbook, distinctive competence is what a company does that allows it to be better than its competition (Baack, Reilly, Minnick, 2014). For Dunkin' Donuts, this is offering more products than its competitors, providing faster service/enabling easier ordering/pickup via technology, and operating in more locations than competitors. Their mission statement which shapes their planning is, "with more than 19,000 points of distribution in nearly 60 countries worldwide, Dunkin's is one of the world's leading franchisors of quick service restaurants serving hot and cold coffee and baked goods, as well as hard-serve ice cream (donuts, n.d.)". One internal factor which may affect their future is revising their employee training/mindset. One external factor might be the opportunity to grow their business in more countries.
SWOT Analysis
Strength/opportunity
One area the company excels at is using technology. They want to be a quick service restaurant and one way they have accomplished this is by using apps/their website, to reduce wait times. Customers can order and pay on their phones/online and have their purchase ready when they arrive.
Strength/threat
One thing the company could improve is its' menu. According to their website, they "offer 50+ varieties of donuts, (and) dozens of premium beverages, bagels, breakfast sandwiches and other baked goods (donuts, n.d.)." While option are always appreciated by customers, having menus which are overcrowded can be an irritant to many people. If it takes longer to look at the menu and make a choice than the time it takes to consume your purchase, that's a problem.
Weakness/opportunity
Dunkin' Donuts themselves discuss, in their shareholders annual report, one opportunity they must work on, their guest experience. They state that they are working on creating an engaging workforce which, "lowers turnover and improves operations, which in turn drives profitable top-line sales (Donuts, n.d.)."
Weakness/threat
Unfortunately for Dunkin' Donuts, they have a lot of competition who offer similar products, Krispy Kreme, Tim Hortons, Starbucks, Dairy Queen, etc. Many of these are also creating online ordering systems to decrease their wait times.
References
Baack, D., Reilly, M., & Minnick, C., & (2014). The five functions of effective management (2nd ed.)
Dunkin' Donuts. (n.d.). Retrieved October 05, 2017.
Osceola Tines
For this discussion, I was asked to choose one of the companies listed, then answer some questions about that company. I chose Hyundai.
State what you believe is the distinctive competence and core competence of your selected company.
Hyundai automotive company's core competency is the ability to manufacture low cost vehicles with the same (or better) safety ratings as their competitors (European models). Their distinctive competence is its ten year, one hundred thousand mile warranty, plus its low costs compared to its competitors. The text book states, "Low-cost provider strategy: Seeking to achieve the lowest overall costs as compared to competitors, and therefore being able to compete with price" (Reilly, Minnick, & Baack, 2011, sec. 2.4).
Give an example of how the values and mission statement help to shape planning.
When Hyundai first entered into the U.S. market in the 1990"s, they acquired a reputation of having unreliable vehicles. Since then, they have focused on reliability and low cost automobiles. Their mission statement outlined several goals that would expand the company's presence, as well as promote an environmentally friendly stance.
Also give some internal and external factors that may influence the business in the future and explain how they will influence the business.
An external factor that presents itself is the alternative energy stance with vehicles, as well as the success of other companies with electric vehicles. An internal influence would be the focus on manufacturing more vehicles in the United States. Even though Hyundai is a Korean owned company, they want to identify with the American Consumer.
References
Baack, D., Reilly, M., & Minnick, C., & (2014). The five functions of effective management (2nd ed.)