Essay on "Tale of Two Cultures the Primary Reason"

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IKEA uses business and corporate startegies that are highly similar to other furniture retailers in many ways, generating the vast majority of its business profits from the sale of furniture through its many internationally located retail outlets. IKEA's strategy is also different form that of other retailers, however, in it's somewhat removed position from consumers: the company began as a mail-order only business, which allowed it to expand into global markets at minimal expense and without requiring large warehousing and shipping infrastructures. Corporate profits are also generated through franchise fees and licensing to use the IKEA brand; this strategy also helps to insulate the company from issues in specific regions/markets and minimizes management and operational expenses, as well.

In order to continue effectively pursuing these strategies, the company has structured itself increasingly as a branding and distributing chain, with subcontractors used for manufacturing items that bear the IKEA name. Company culture places an emphasis on consistency and reliability; much like the furniture that IKEA sells, modular deisgns in the structure and culture allow the company to subtly adapt to individual markets and shifts in demand and the economy at large while maintaining the same qualities and values upon which the company was founded -- namely providing reliable service (and products) at a relatively low cost to other retail furniture. This structure continues to serve the company well as it continues to grow in both number of retail stores operating and in overall market share.

Microsoft Reorganizes to Speed Innovation

The reorganization of Microsoft into three separate divisions represents a major shift in the strategy and structure of the company. The operations of the company remain defined by the principles of intensive technology, with the design and release of products taking place neither from the point-of-view of individual craftsmanship or even simple engineering, but with a broader range of considerations and influences going into the development of Microsoft's software packages and other products. Technology also plays a huge role in the operations of the company, facilitating design and communication efforts and ensuring timely coordination and concurrent advancements in specific projects and in the company's overall operational goals. The company's reorganization was achieved in an effort to enhance still further the ability for streamlined communication and progress in technological innovation, decreasing costs and increasing the company's profitability from ongoing efforts.

One of the major changes in the reorganization of Microsoft is the combination of products and services into one department, enhancing the interconnectivity between these two consumer-oriented divisions of the business. This as well as the other realignments that are a part of the restructuring of the company are hoped to improve the decision making process and the speed with which projects are executed, allowing for faster turnaround in addressing issues with new and existing products as well as increasing the speed with which new products are developed. This will lead to increased resources for research and development, improving the company's technologies.

Starwood's Uses Six Sigma to Improve Hotel Performance

Six Sigma is an operations management style that utilizes a variety of methodologies, including statistical techniques, to ensure consistency and a high degree of reliability in company output. Essentially, this management strategy seeks to identify and remove the causes of potential errors or defects in output processes; initially developed specifically for manufacturing applications, the Six Sigma strategy has been successfully employed in a wide variety of industries. In order to affectively implement the Six Sigma strategy, organizations must comprehensively and explicitly identify and describe the processes that lead to company outputs, identify the defects or errors that occur in the outputs themselves, then examine the output processes to eliminate the causes of these defects/errors. Ongoing process management and output measurement/analysis are required to continue the quality improvement effects that are the goals of the Six Sigma strategy.

The improvements to competitive advantage that the Six Sigma strategy can lead to for many organizations are multifaceted. Higher quality and more consistent products/services are delivered through the use of the Total Quality Management strategy, increasing brand loyalty and company image. Careful process control also has the effect of limiting waste and inefficiencies, often providing a significant cost savings to the company, potentially reducing the cost of goods/services to consumers without sacrificing quality an increasing profitability. Direct quality comparisons with non-Six Sigma competitors can also provide an advantage.

How Microsoft's Growth Led to Control Problems

At the initial stages of its development, the creativity stage of Greiner's model, Microsoft was a collective of software engineers and businessmen, with its small size capable of easy communication focused on individual projects. Co-founder Paul Allen's diagnosis with cancer in 1983 presented a leadership crisis that helped propel the company into the second stage, direction, where the company became larger and rigidly organized. As it entered the third phase of delegation, the increased size of the company and increasing decentralization of leadership began to create control problems, as oversight simply did not exist to a large enough degree. The coordination and monitoring phase saw the company attempting to bring elements back under control, but this era was also marked by anti-trust lawsuits and other external and internal issues that split company focus and caused some divisiveness among leadership; varying motives and values in different divisions and departments led to ongoing control issues. The collaboration phase the company is currently in requires both a recentralization of decision making and more effectively coordinated team efforts in order to maintain control and proper evaluative procedures.

In order to solve its problems in the current collaboration stage, Microsoft should adjust its company culture to increase inter- and intra-departmental communications. Restructuring to a somewhat lateralized structure with a strong central leadership would also assist in enhancing collaboration while regaining control. Simplifying processes and control methods would also be beneficial.

Bricks-and-Mortar Retailers Learn How to Use It

The Internet has provided many advantages to businesses and consumers alike, and has also created some major differences in the overall manner in which retail business (and business generally) is conducted. Product information is now readily available online, so consumers -- even those shopping at brick-and-mortar establishments -- are more likely to be better equipped with product knowledge. Both employees and consumers at brick-and-mortar establishments are also used to faster transactions; consumers have come to expect goods on a more consistently and immediately available basis, as virtually anything can be ordered online within minutes (though delivery takes some time, of course). This has changed the purchasing procedure at brick-and-mortar establishments in several ways, but one of the key differences that business can use to increase competitive advantage and that consumers have come to expect is increased personal interaction -- the one thing that the Internet cannot really provide, and this is in fact distinctly lacking from online retail purchases.

The consumers that shop at brick-and-mortar retail locations are likely seeking this personal interaction as well as product immediacy, and may also have specific and detailed questions that they would like answered prior to and during the purchasing process. Increasing the availability of product literature, holding regular employee meetings to increase levels of employee awareness and knowledge, and touching base with department/store managers regularly to address any unthought-of customer concerns can help brick-and-mortar retailers manager customer needs.

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