performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to provide professional and personalised customer service experiences

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performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to provide professional and personalised customer service experiences
ntroduction
This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to provide professional and personalised customer service experiences. It requires the ability to determine and meet customer preferences, develop customer relationships, respond to difficult service situations and take responsibility for resolving complaints. This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to develop, monitor and adjust customer service practices. It requires the ability to consult with colleagues and customers, develop policies and procedures for quality service provision and manage the delivery of customer service.
Instructions
Scenario
Mr Wong’s a newly opened restaurant in Sydney’s CBD has been awarded best new restaurant of 2013 in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Awards, Time Out and also Gourmet Traveller Awards. In order to provide continuity in service standards and meet the high expectation of new and regular clientele as a result of the recent popularity they have decided to promote you to the position of -Senior Customer Relations Manager. You are looking forward to putting your experience and unparalled knowledge of customer service excellence to good use in your new role. Congratulations!
http://www.au.timeout.com/sydney/restaurants/features/12493/time-out-food-awards-2013-best-new- restaurant.
http://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/events/restaurant-awards/2013/8/2014-gourmet-traveller- restaurant-awards-winners/new-restaurant-of-the-year/
http://www.agfg.com.au/guide/nsw/sydney/sydney-city-surrounds/sydney-city/restaurants-dining/mr- wong
Tasks
1. Your first task is to act as a positive role model exhibiting professional service standards within the hospitality industry. Summarise why this is important to the restaurant and how you would hope to achieve this?
??????Version 1
Research Report 1- SITCSM14 Customer Service Management
?List six roles and responsibilities of management, supervisors and operational personnel for quality service provision within the restaurant. This list can also include attitudes and attributes required to excel in customer service excellence.
As part of your new role, you are required to initiate information sharing and ongoing feedback on customer needs, expectations and satisfaction levels using both formal and informal research. Outline three different strategies that you would implement in order to achieve this. Your objective is to create a database of information pertaining to consumer behaviour/ preferences and satisfaction levels of products and services. This information will be used by the restaurant in order to achieve customer service excellence and improve performance. (In your answer you are required to include one example of a customer survey that you would use.)
2. Once you have collated valuable information pertaining to the expectations of your customers, outline the methods that you would use to implement quality service provisions and how you would communicate these preferences to the staff in order to achieve service excellence. List any documentation/policies or procedures that you would need to develop.
Identify any changes that may have occur in the internal/external environment and outline how you would potentially incorporate these changes into the quality service strategies that you are responsible for building.
3. Identify what types of training you would facilitate amongst your team in order to create a culture whereby customer service is seen as paramount to achieving organisational success? You are expected to achieve excellent outcomes in the following areas:
? Teamwork skills
? Development of customer service practices
? Seeking ongoing feedback of staff
Identify any accreditation schemes that you could incorporate into your training and development in order to recognise your employees skills and competencies
4. Outline different methods that could be used to monitor and evaluate outcomes of the new customer service standards that you have implemented? Include in your answer how you would identify and rectify systematic customer service issues and adjust policies and procedures to improve service quality.
5. In order to achieve your KPI’s and excel in your new position, you are expected to be up-to-date
with current industry service trends and changes that affect service delivery. Outline how you will achieve this and the regulatory bodies that you would consult.


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Education- research paper

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Education- research paper
Task:
Present the results of a personal professional learning journey you began in Assignment
1. Within the time frame and with the resources available, conduct research on a topic
collaboratively identified in Assignment 1. The research process should be closely allied
to your teaching context and grounded in professional reflective practice methodology.
Your research will develop your generative learning focus identified in Assignment 1.
Audience:
Imagine you will present your research as part of your e-portfolio and final exit
interview.
Expected content:
Your submission should include:
? A description of your professional context and (possibly still emerging) rationale for
topic choice;
? A methodological approach to publicly available and non-identifying data
(precluding the need to seek ethics approval) including relevant Codes of Conduct
and Duty of Care;
? Findings from the data and a discussion;
? A visualisation which will aid in communication and word count reduction;
? Recommendations (one or two) based on contemporary educational thinking
EST302- Researching Classroom Practice – Assignment 1
Maintaining professional Learning Coherence
As a teaching professional it is very important to maintain professional learning coherence. This is often accomplished by collaborating with others, at first this could be, other pre-service teachers and your university lecturers.
Then moving into a school and classroom environment it could be achieved by collaboration with other teachers through joint planning, mentoring, PLT (professional learning teams) meetings and observing fellow teachers. As stated in Professional Learning in Effective schools, PLT meetings can be an important part of a teacher’s professional learning. ‘Professional learning teams are an effective means of developing a culture of collaboration and collective responsibility in schools. In professional learning teams teachers remain accountable for individual students. However, they also take responsibility collectively for improving instructional practices to achieve gains in learning for all their students. (Professional Learning in Effective schools, 2015)
Professional learning and collaboration can also be achieved through informal conversations with other teachers in your school. “In a learning community, teachers learn about teaching through daily conversations with their colleagues. In the school staff-room, for example, teachers may share their knowledge of effective teaching practices, complex subject matter, and the learning styles of different students, new assessment practices or strategies for classroom behaviour management. Informal interactions like these constitute an important form of collegial support and learning for teachers.(Professional Learning in Effective schools, 2015)
It can be done within the school environment by collaboration with other grade levels in the schools and the leadership team, the collaboration you do with literacy and numeracy coaches and through collaboration with other teachers in your community and state through organised professional development and curriculum days.
My professional learning journey has just begun. I collaborate with other pre-service teachers through university online discussion board about our current learning in units, our experiences on placement and within our study. We provide advice and feedback to each other.
Outside of university I maintain professional learning coherence by collaborating with my mentor teacher and other staff within the school environment. I attend all Professional learning team meetings, staff meetings and curriculum days, I take feedback from my mentor teacher and I observe other classes and teachers within the school.
In taking part in these practices I can continually improve my teaching practice to meet the needs of my students and the school community. I pair this collaboration with continued research and reading in the subject areas I feel I need more knowledge.
My Teaching and Learning Context
My name is Jane. This is my third year of university but I am currently completing my final fourth year units. I’ve completed two summer semesters and am overloading this semester so I can finish quicker. I find the longer things take me the less motivated I am to finish.
My last placement was in term 2 of this year and was in a small school in Melbourne’s inner suburbs. I was in a 2/3 class. The students at the school were mainly from families with English as a second language and low socio-economic backgrounds. Most of the students were samalian. The attendance of students was low. At the start of the year they had 24 students in the class, by term 2 there was 16 in the class. Most of the students were working at a level below their year level.
I will start my fourth and final placement this term at a reasonably big school in the Northern suburbs in Melbourne. I will be in a year 1 class. I’m very excited as this means I have taught prep to year five with a mixture of composite and single grade classes.
When I graduate I’m looking forward to getting a fulltime job in a classroom. I think I would prefer to teach junior primary but have completed placements in year 4/5 classrooms and have really enjoyed that as well. I’m really happy to teach any grade level but would be nervous to teach grade 6 as I find they can be more challenging.
When I first started the degree I thought I wanted to go onto complete a masters in special education because I wanted to work with students with special needs but as I worked my way through the degree I have found that I enjoy seeing the students make progress and this happens faster in mainstream schools. My decision to teach in a mainstream school is also because I have found that I like the verbal interaction and the connection with students, which I find, is easier to achieve than in a special school.
I don’t really sure I have a specific passion. I enjoy tennis but that is only because I enjoy the involvement it gives me with the younger players. I like to provide support to those players playing at a higher level young and help them cope with the mental challenges this has.
I would like to be involved in the tennis industry and work in a primary school and therefore am looking at further education for next year.
I enjoy watching students learn new things and enjoy watching them engaged in a learning experience. I am passionate about using activities in the classroom, which are engaging to students, as I believe children learn best when they are having fun.
I believe my strengths to be behaviour management and organisation. I worked as a teachers assistant for 3 years before starting this degree and believe the special developmental setting have given me many great skills I can use in the classroom.
I also believe that starting this degree has helped with my organisational skills, which will be an asset in my classroom. Being a teacher means you have a lot of different jobs to complete in one day and to make sure you are giving your full attention to the students in class time teachers need to be very organised.
I would like to know more about assessment and reporting and data collection. These are things that make me nervous working in a school. I am nervous about making the judgements about student learning and being able to mark there work against the Australian curriculum standards.
Annotated Bibliography
Reading 1:
Davis, B., Sumara, D., & Luce-Kapler, R. (2015). Engaging minds (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.
Davis, Sumara and Luce-Kapler discuss the emergence of standardised education in chapter one of the book Engaging Minds. Davis, Sumara and Luce-Kapler discuss the beginning of schooling or formal education, how it was aimed at the elite in the ancient world and mainly males from families who were financially well or military families.
The chapter then goes onto discuss how the focus of education varied from school to school depending on the students attending, the founder of the school and who was financing the schools existence. The common focus in all the schools though seemed to be literacy and mathematics.
The authors discuss the emergence of standardised education beginning in 1700 and 1800 due to the industrial revolution and the opening of factories in England. When the industrial revolution started schooling changed and became out teaching the necessary skills needed to be skilled to work in the factories and this is where standardised schooling began.
In chapter one part one the authors go onto discuss the rise of middle class education. In the early 1800’s the Western world had a large population of middle class families who demanded the same level of schooling as the elite. This eventually meant that secondary school became available to all children and made mandatory of all students in the 1900’s.
Reading 2:
Davis, B., Sumara, D., & Luce-Kapler, R. (2015). Engaging minds (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.
Davis, Sumara and Luce-Kapler look at the teaching in standardised education in chapter one part three. In the years of standardised education the teachers job description was described as telling, informing, presenting and conveying. The authors believed that at this time the teacher was perceived as the expert of the given subject and they would pass on the information to the student through lecturing and telling.
Chapter one part three also states that there is no support to accommodate the need to support different learning styles like visual, auditory and kinaesthetic as this can be restricting to students rather than challenging them to improve on those areas they aren’t as talent or comfortable in. ‘Not only is no empirical support whatsoever for this notion, its advice may actually constrain learning as it caters to familiar habits rather than challenging underdeveloped abilities.’(Davis, Sumara & Luce-Kapler,2015)
The chapter then goes onto describe how teacher effectiveness is judged by the achievement of students in their class. The authors believe that these practices of evaluation and accountability also come from the industrial revolution and the idea of quality control. The ideas of grading and scoring also come from the time of standardised education and the industrial revolution where manufactured goods were ranked according to quality (graded) and things were ranked according to quality (scoring).
If this is true isn’t the education system in a similar situation, we push students to achieve to a specific level as decided by curriculum outcomes rather than pushing them outside the boundaries of the prescribed curriculum and schooling system.
As a teacher our success in the profession is marked by the results of our student’s and where they are achieving on set curriculum indicators and national testing, what if our student’s learning is better pushed outside these boundaries?
Reading 3:
Professional Learning in Effective Schools. (2015) (1st ed.). Victoria. Retrieved from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/profdev/proflearningeffectivesch.pdf
The authors of Professional Learning in effective schools – The Seven Principles of Highly Effective Schools discuss teachers being at the very centre of learning and how the quality of the teacher is an important part of student success in the classroom. The author’s go on to suggest the importance of quality professional development for teachers to make them effective within the classroom environment.
The authors go onto suggest there are many ways for schools to create an effective professional learning environment and these can include, professional learning teams, informal chats between colleagues and development through curriculum days and professional development opportunities outside of the school. The Information booklet suggests; “In a learning community, teachers learn about teaching through daily conversations with their colleagues. In the school staff-room, for example, teachers may share their knowledge of effective teaching practices, complex subject matter, the learning styles of different students, new assessment practices or strategies for classroom behaviour management. Informal interactions like these constitute an important form of collegial support and learning for teachers.”(Professional Learning in Effective schools, 2015)
Reading 4:
Why NAPLAN is failing our kids. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/why-naplan-is-failing-our-kids/story-fngqim8m-1227474774150
The editorial published in the Herald Sun on August 5th 2015 titled ‘The latest NAPLAN results reveal the need for Gonski-style funding’ outlines the concern for the ‘stagnation of numeracy and literacy results’ over the past few years and how this will affect the future of our economy.
The article goes onto suggest that NAPLAN doesn’t provide an accurate result of how much students are progressing from past years and doesn’t provide any relevant data about student backgrounds including natural ability or can’t pinpoint any of the underlying issues of student achievement in the test.
The article goes onto suggest that NAPLAN results sound only be used of one of many diagnostic tools to help pinpoint potential difficulties in student learning and nothing more.
It is also suggested that schools should not be judged on NAPLAN results but rather the progress they are helping the students within their community make.
The authors believe that results of students in NAPLAN can also be affected by different factors including; cultural background, home life and socio economic situation, “You certainly cannot blame the children for disappointing NAPLAN results, either. Every child can reach their potential given the chance. Yet many come from backgrounds where education is not valued or where families do not have the skills to help with homework or the money for tutors.” (The Sydney Morning Herald, 2015)
The conclusion of the editorial suggests that the government needs to take responsibility for the long term education of teachers by investing in university and training, as well as taking responsibility education funding by making sure it is being directed to the correct areas.
Reading 5:
Why NAPLAN is failing our kids. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/why-naplan-is-failing-our-kids/story-fngqim8m-1227474774150
Loakes, Simpson and Wigglesworth take an in-depth look at the issues with NAPLAN in Indigenous Northern territory communities. The article discusses the poor results from the 2008 NAPLAN test in rural communities and remote rural communities. The results show that Northern Territory students in all grade levels that NAPLAN was taken preformed worse than all other Australian States. This was also true for the results from 2009, 2010 and 2011.
The authors explain how they have examined the NAPLAN tests from 2008 and the problem with using it in indigenous communities and in schools with a large number of students who use English as a second language. The authors explain that the reading passage assumes that the student would have some cultural knowledge. They go onto suggest that students from different back ground and family situations won’t have the same experiences to make the required connections and therefore have trouble making meaning from the tests text.
The article mainly focuses on remote indigenous communities and how their cultural knowledge varies as their life style differs greatly from students in other parts of Australia and therefore won’t have the same understanding of the questions and exercises.
Strategies for ongoing learning
To make sure I progress in my career as a teacher it is important that I continue to grow and learn. This is important in many aspects including progressing from graduate to proficient and to make sure I am giving the students the best leaning environment possible. To make sure I continue to grow and learn professional development will be an important part of my teaching career.
As outlined above professional development can be undertaken in a number of ways including; communication with other teachers, professional learning teams, further education and training, professional development workshops and my own continued research.
Within this unit my plan for ongoing learning is to research the implications of NAPLAN testing on teaching and learning in the classroom environment and how much emphasis should be placed on these results within the education system. This topic directly results to the following AITSL graduate standards:
• 1.2: Understand how students learn – Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.
• 5.1: Assess student learning -Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning.
• 5.3: Make consistent and comparable judgements – Demonstrate understanding of assessment moderation and its application to support consistent and comparable judgements of student learning.
• 5.4: Interpret Student data – Demonstrate the capacity to interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice.
Bibliography
Aitsl.edu.au,. (2015). Standards | Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. Retrieved 10 August 2015, from http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/standards/list?&s=2
Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2014). Assessment. Retrieved March 20, 2015 from http://www.acara.edu.au/assessment/assessment.html
Davis, B., Sumara, D., & Luce-Kapler, R. (2015). Engaging minds (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.
Galton, M., Hargreaves, L., Comber, C., Wall, D., & Pell, T. (1999). Changes in Patterns of Teacher Interaction in Primary Classrooms: 1976-96. British Educational Research Journal, 25(1), 23-37. doi:10.1080/0141192990250103
Muijs, D., & Reynolds, D. (2000). School Effectiveness and Teacher Effectiveness in Mathematics: Some Preliminary Findings from the Evaluation of the Mathematics Enhancement Programme (Primary). School Effectiveness And School Improvement, 11(3), 273-303. doi:10.1076/0924-3453(200009)11:3;1-g;ft273
NAP National Assessment Program. (2013). NAPLAN. Retrieved March 25, 2015 from
http://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/naplan.html
Professional Learning in Effective Schools. (2015) (1st ed.). Victoria. Retrieved from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/profdev/proflearningeffectivesch.pdf
The Sydney Morning Herald,. (2015). The latest NAPLAN results reveal the need for Gonski-style funding. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/the-latest-naplan-results-reveal-the-need-for-gonskistyle-funding-20150805-girt7u.html
Why NAPLAN is failing our kids. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/why-naplan-is-failing-our-kids/story-fngqim8m-1227474774150
Wigglesworth, G., Simpson, J., & Loakes, D. (2011). NAPLAN LANGUAGE ASSESSMENTS FOR INDIGENOUS CHILDREN IN REMOTE COMMUNITIES: ISSUES AND PROBLEMS.Australian Review Of Applied Linguistics, 34(3), 1-9. Retrieved from http://www.nla.gov.au/openpublish/index.php/aral/article/view/2280


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BUSINESS-LEVEL STRATEGY

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Assignment requirement:
You must be read 2 readings (http://www.smartcompany.com.au/leadership/45525-how-brian-shanahan- created-temple-webster-a-28-million-online-destination-for-homewares.html and http://www.brw.com.au/p/entrepreneurs/temple_furniture_smarts_media_onlinline_VFqE8P1qQoAhMfJJqUhuuJ ) and only use this company (Temple & Webster), and then must be write following the below form.
According to this table. You can see there are 6 part:
1 Chapter 1introduction: 200 words, it should be including the strategic issues and challenges it faces, and statement.Required Reading:
Hanson et al Chapter 1 and pages 416 – 418.
Recommended Reading:
Porter, M. 1996 What is Strategy, Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec., pp.1-20. (Moodle) Bart, C.K., Bontis, N. &Taggar, S. 2001. A model of the impact of mission statements on
firm performance, Management Decision, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 19-35.?Davies, W. 2000. Understanding Strategy, Strategy & Leadership, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 25-
30.?Frery, F. 2006 The Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy, MIT Sloan Management
Review, 48(1): 71-5.?Hitt, M., Boyd, B. & Li, D. 2004. The State of Strategic Management Research and a
Vision for the Future, Research Methodology in Strategy and Management, 1: 1-31. Slesky, J., Goes, J. &Baburoglu, E. 2007. Contrasting Perspectives of Strategy Making,
Organisation Studies, 28(1): 71-94.?Suddaby, R. & Greenwood 2005. Rhetorical Strategies of Legitimacy, Administrative
Science Quarterly, 50: 35-67.?Hambrick& Fredrickson, 2001. Are You Sure You Have a Strategy? Academy of
Management Executive, November.
2 Chapter 2 External analyses: the main issues: 50 words. Industry analysis porter’s 5 forces: 250 words. Conclusions and insights opportunities and threat, vision, mission and values: 150 words.
Required Reading:
Hanson et al Chapter 2
Recommended Reading:
Hambrick, D. & Fredrickson, J. 2005. Are You Sure You Have a Strategy?,Academy of Management Executive, 19 (4): 51-62.
Hamel, G. (1996) ‘Strategy as Revolution’, HBR (July-August)?Hamel, G. and Prahalad, C.K. 1989, ‘Strategic Intent’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 67,
no. 3, p. 63.
Mintzberg, H. 1987. Crafting Strategy, Harvard Business Review [HBR] (July/August): 66- 75 (reprinted in C. A. Montgomery & M. Porter (Ed.) Strategy, Harvard Business School Press.
Mintzberg, H. 1996, Five Ps for Strategy, in The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts, Cases, H. Mintzberg, and J. B. Quinn, eds., Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ, , pp. 12-19.
Porter, M. E. 2008. The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review (January): 78-93.
Ford, J. A., Steen, J. &Verreynne, M. 2014. How environmental regulations affect innovation in the Australian oil and gas industry: going beyond the Porter hypothesis. Journal of Cleaner Production.
3 Chapter 3 Internal analysis: resource model and associated concepts, and strengths and weaknesses: 450 words
Required Reading:
Hanson et al Chapter 3
Recommended Reading:
Hamel, G. &Prahalad, C.K., 1990. The Core Competence of the Corporation, Harvard Business Review, 68 (3):79-91
Bradfield, R. & van der Heijden, K. 2006. The Role of Scenario Planning in Exploring the Environment in View of the Limitations of PEST and its Derivatives, International Studies of Management and Organisation, 36(3): 50-76.
Lei, D. & Slocum, J. 2005. Strategic and Organisational Requirements for Competitive Advantage, Academy of Management Executive, 19(1): 131-45.
Wang, C.L. & Ahmed, P.K. 2007. Dynamic Capabilities, International Journal of Management Review, 9(1): 31-52.
4 Chapter 4 business level strategies: 450 words
Required Reading:
Hanson et al Chapter 4
Recommended Reading:
Kumar, N. 2006. Strategies to Fight Low Cost Rivals, Harvard Business Review, 84(12): 104-13.
Wan, W.P. &Hoskisson, R.E. 2003. Home Country Environments, Corporate Diversity Strategies and Firm Performance, Academy of Management Journal, 46(1): 27-45.
Sinfield, J. V., E. Calder, B. McConnell and S. Colson. 2012. How to identify new business models. MIT Sloan Management Review (Winter): 85-90.
Zook, C. & J. Allen. 2011. The great repeatable business model: Leveraging a simple formula allows corporations to create new and more-lasting differentiation. Harvard Business Review (November): 106-114.
Gavetti and Rivkin, 2005 How Strategists Really Think, Harvard Business Review, April, pp. 54-63.
Gutterman A.S. 2011. Business Level Strategy (see Moodle). See end of chapter references in Hanson et al P128-130.
5 Chapter 5 recommendation (competitive advantage): 200 words
Required Reading:
Hanson et al Chapter 6
Recommended Reading:
Chakrabarti, A., Singh, K. & Mahmood, I., 2007. Diversification and Performance, Strategic Management Journal, 28: 101-20.
Hamel, G. &Prahalad, C.K., 1990. The Core Competence of the Corporation, Harvard Business Review, 68 (3):79-91
Klein, P.G. & Lien, L.B. 2009. Diversification, Industry Structure and Firm Strategy: An Organizational Economic Perspective, Advances in Strategic Management, Vol 26, 289- 312. (See Moodle)
O’Reilly and Tushman, 2004. The Ambidextrous Organization, Harvard Business Review, April, pp.74-81.
6 conclusion: 150 words
before doing this assignment. Please read the powerpoint and the text book first. Thank you very much.
Topic and question:
Topic: Case Study Analysis: Temple & Webster’s External Environment, Core Competencies and Strategic Choices
Question: First, using the internet and business related literature, research the company, Temple & Webster, an Australian $28 million online destination for homewares. You could begin your search with, http://www.smartcompany.com.au/leadership/45525-how-brian-shanahan- created-temple-webster-a-28-million-online-destination-for-homewares.html
and
http://www.brw.com.au/p/entrepreneurs/temple_furniture_smarts_media_onlinline_VFqE8P1qQoAhMfJJqUhuuJ
Second, by way of a formal introduction to your formal academic essay (ie not a business report), provide a brief synopsis of the company and the strategic issues and challenges it faces.
Third, in the body of your essay undertake the following analyses:
1. Temple & Webster’s general external environment. Focus on the most salient elements applicable to Temple & Webster (allocate your words according to the marking criteria). ?
2. An industry analysis for Temple & Webster. Remember to draw some conclusions or insights about T&W’s external environment and hence its opportunities and threats. For example, what are the industry structure and dynamics? What are the industry trends and the implications of those trends? ?
3. An internal organisation analysis for Temple & Webster. Again draw insights about its resources, capabilities, core competencies and hence competitive strengths and weaknesses. Also consider the implications for T&W’s vision, mission and values. ?
4. Identify, discuss and evaluate the business level strategies used by Temple & Webster to compete in the online homewares industry. Consider the risks and benefits associated with those strategies (eg against the forces of competition and why the company has been so successful to date). ?
Note: in undertaking the above analyses be sure to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the relevant core strategic management concepts and theories, as well as your ability to apply them meaningfully to the business case of Temple & Webster. This requires that you undertake a solid literature review and use theory to inform practice and strategy. Guard carefully against undocumented assertions. Be sure to fully reference your work (in-text and end reference list).
Fourth, assume you are a strategic adviser to the owners of Temple & Webster. In light of the issues you identified in the introduction and the analyses you have undertaken, what recommendations would you make to Temple & Webster with regard to developing the company’s competitive advantage for above average returns over the next 5 to 10 years?
Finally, what conclusions can you draw with regard to the relevance of strategic management theory to practice?
Note: You will need more than two (or three) drafts in order to achieve the clarity, consistency, and structure necessary for a graduate level analytical essay. Do not use dot or bullet points. Do not use direct quotes. Be sure to start your essay early and allow time to redraft your essay before its final submission. Your essay must not read like a series of unrelated short answer questions.
Key points to observe
1. The essay is to be typewritten or word processed. ?Typed essays demonstrate a commitment to academic standards. ?
2. Type on one side of the page. ?
3. Leave a generous margin on the left hand side of the page. ?
4. Always use double spacing. ?
5. Aim for a simple, clear and direct writing style.
a) Use one point per sentence. ?
b) Complete sentences should always be used. ?
c) Each paragraph should cover only one main idea or a set of closely connected ideas. ?
d) Headings and sub-headings can be used to make the underlying structure of the analysis clearer. ?
e) A “chatty” or “journalistic” style should be avoided. The first person (I, we) should be avoided in favour of an impersonal style (the evidence suggests that…) ?
f) Spelling, grammar and other elements of expression will be considered in the assessment. ?
6. Avoid many of the problems of poor presentation by drawing up a plan and preparing one or more preliminary drafts before writing the final version of the report. Proof read your final typed version. ?
7. Use gender neutral language. This is most easily achieved by using the plural form, for example, using “they” instead of “he”. Thus, “A worker faced by new technology may feel that his skills are being devalued” can be re-stated as, “Workers faced by new technology may feel their skills are being devalued.” ?
8. Appendices to the report should contain any additional information which you regard as important (e.g. graphs, tables, questionnaires). Appendices should be referred to in the text and should be numbered and sequenced in the same order as they appear in the text. ?
9. Pages should be numbered and the entire report securely stapled. Plastic covers and the like are cumbersome and unnecessary. ?
10. All sources of information and ideas are to be acknowledged. References in the report should be cited by author and date of publication. ?Example ?Beauchamp and Bowie (2004) suggest …….?OR?It has been suggested (Beauchamp & Bowie, 2004) that …… ?
11. A reference list must be included on a separate page at the conclusion of your essay. Present the list of references in alphabetical order. In the list of references presented at the end of the essay, cite journal articles and books in the manner of the sample references given below. ?In your reference list, name only those authors that have been referred to in the essay. Do not list any additional reading whose author you have not named in the essay. ?Failure to cite your sources in the body of your essay, along with the absence of an end reference list, will normally lead to a failed grade for your assignment. ?
1
BUSINESS-LEVEL STRATEGY
By Alan S. Gutterman1
Abstract
Growth is a key goal and objective for emerging companies and management must carefully determine the best way to combine the core competencies within a firm’s functional departments to provide the firm with the best opportunity for achieving and sustaining a competitive advantage in its chosen environment. This report focuses on the process of setting business level-strategy, which includes (1) selecting the domain(s) in which the firm will be competing for scarce resources (e.g., capital, personnel, technology, inputs and customers) and (2) positioning the firm in each chosen domain so that its function-based core competencies are most effectively leveraged to establish a competitive advantage. The overall goal of business-level strategy is to protect the firm’s position in its current domain and, if possible, enlarge the domain in which the firm can operate with a competitive advantage.
I. Overview
Senior executives and managers involved in the development and implementation of business-level strategies are tasked with identifying the core competencies within the various functional departments of the company and combining them in a way that provides the company with the best opportunity for achieving and sustaining a competitive advantage in its chosen environment. The key choices that must be made when setting business-level strategy include: (1) selecting the domain(s) in which the company will be competing for scarce resources (e.g., capital, personnel, technology, inputs and customers) and (2) positioning the company in each chosen domain so that its function-based core competencies are most effectively leveraged to establish a competitive advantage. The overall goal of business-level strategy is to protect the company’s position in its current domain and, if possible, enlarge the domain in which the company can operate with a competitive advantage. The tools available to business-level strategists are created at the functional level and may include core competencies in one or more key functional areas such as manufacturing, HR, materials management, sales and marketing and/or R&D.2
1 The material in this report will appear in Organizational Management and Administration: A Guide for Managers and Professionals by Dr. Alan S. Gutterman and is presented with permission of Thomson Reuters/West. Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters/West. For more information or to order call 1-800-762-5272. Dr. Gutterman is the Director of the Center for Management of Emerging Companies [www.managingemergingcompanies.org].
2 G. Jones, Organizational theory, design and change (5th Ed.) (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007). See also M.E. Porter, Competitive Strategy (New York: The Free Press, 1980), Chapter 2.
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II. Steps for Creation of the Business-Level Strategy
As discussed above, companies can create a core competency at the functional level either by reducing the costs of performing the value-creation activities that occur within the function (“low cost advantage”) or performing the value-creation activities that occur within the function to differentiate its products from those offered by competitors in a way that customers perceive as having value (“differentiation advantage”). Creation of a business-level strategy builds on functional-level strategies and involves two steps: (1) selecting the domain(s) in which the company will compete, a decision that should be based on where the company’s core competencies can be best leveraged; and (2) for each domain that is selected, deciding whether to compete using a low cost strategy, a differentiation strategy, or both. If a company has developed a core competency in low cost production of its products (i.e., a low cost advantage) it can adopt a “low-cost business-level strategy” based on selling low priced products to all of the target customers in the domain. The initial strategies deployed by Dell Computer are an example of attempting to use a low cost advantage to capture a significant share of a broadly defined market. On the other hand, if there are target customers within the domain that are willing to pay higher or premium prices the company may use a “differentiation business-level strategy” that emphasizes product quality, customer services, image of prestige and other features that distinguish the company’s products from competitors.3 This is the path chosen by Starbucks when it entered the market and transformed expectations of consumer regarding their morning cup of coffee. It is also possible, albeit difficult, for a company to use both strategies simultaneously and offer differentiated goods and services produced at lower costs due to the innovative use of technology and business processes such as supply chain management.4
In addition to balancing low cost and differentiation advantages, senior management must also decide whether to serve the entire market or focus company efforts on selected segments of a larger market. If a focused approach is used the company can either attack the segment as the “lowest cost” competitor or alternatively can seek to compete in that market on the basis of offering clearly differentiated products or services that will be valued by customers in that segment. In either case, the company that adopts this so-called “focus strategy” has made a conscious decision to focus all of its available resources on one specific segment and seek to become a “specialist” in identifying and serving the needs of customers in the chosen segment. One example of this approach would be the way that Kentucky Fried Chicken decided to specialize in chicken rather than other areas of the broader fast food market, an example of what is called “focused low-cost leadership”. Similarly, Rolls Royce made a conscience choice to limits its
3 Examples of various differentiation strategies include Mercedes (exceptional quality and image of prestige or exclusivity) and IBM (customer service).
4 Id. at 216. See also M.E. Porter, Competitive Strategy (New York: The Free Press, 1980), Chapter 2.
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activities within the automobile manufacturing market to customers in the high price segment, an example of “focused differentiation”.5
Two companies may be in the same broadly defined industry, such as retail clothing; however, they may opt to compete in different domains which are defined by specific target customer groups. For example, Target produces and sells clothing in its retail stores with an eye toward appealing to customers looking for modestly priced items of predictable quality, which means that Target has selected a low-cost business-level strategy that can be supported by Target’s functional core competencies in low cost production. On the other hand, a high-end clothing retailer such as Nordstrom has traditionally focused on customers willing and able to pay premium prices and has been successful with this differentiation business-level strategy because it has been able to forge relationships with exclusive clothes designers that allow it to offer items with differentiated appeal.6
McDonald’s is an example of that rare company that has successfully executed a combined differentiated and low-cost business-level strategy in its chosen domain—the fast food industry. Using its functional core competencies in marketing McDonald’s has had a long-standing practice of creating and disseminating sophisticated advertising and marketing messages that have established the company as a unique brand name in the industry and successfully differentiated it from its competitors. At the same time McDonald’s has developed legendary core competencies in supply chain management, including manufacturing and distribution, to carefully control its costs. For example, McDonald’s has entered into a number of strategic alliances with outside parties based on long-term contracts that ensure availability of food items and the supplies and furnishings necessary to operate the extensive network of McDonald’s outlets around the world. In addition, in some cases McDonald’s actually owns the sources of its inputs, such as herds of cattle in Brazil and other countries. The execution of each strategy is tightly and carefully managed through a rigorous standardization process applied throughout the company’s franchise system that allows the company to control the content and quality of the experience that customers have whenever they visit a McDonald’s outlet, regardless of its location.7
Amazon is another example of a company that used its core competency in new information technology to successfully launch a combined differentiated and low-cost business level strategy that has upset the dual competitive environment that had co-existed before Amazon entered the retail bookselling domain. Historically there were two types of business-level strategies for attracting the interest of customers interested in
5 Id. at 217. Other examples of focused low-cost leadership and focused differentiation include Enterprise Rent-a-Car and Edward Jones Investments, respectively.
6 Id. at 216.
7 Id. at 216. See also R.E. White, “Generic Business Strategies, Organizational Context and Performance: An Investigation,” Strategic Management Journal, 217-231; and G.R. Jones and J.E. Butler, “Costs, Revenue, and Business-Level Strategy,” Academy of Management Review, 13 (1988), 202-213.
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purchasing books—the large book chains, such as Barnes & Noble, pursued a low-cost strategy to negotiate substantial discounts with publishers based on the volume of purchases and passed the savings along to customers in the form of lower prices available at their conveniently located outlets in large shopping malls; and independent bookstores, large and small, and smaller specialized stores, all of which competed through a differentiated strategy based on offering selections not readily available through the mega-stores and providing patrons with personalized service that created a strong sense of customer loyalty. Amazon’s strategy of selling books over the Internet simultaneously created a differentiated and low-cost competitive advantage that has significantly challenged both the large book chains and the independents. From the perspective of a differentiation strategy Amazon’s online catalog of literally every available book in the English language provided choices for customers that could not be matched by even the most specialized book store. In addition, Amazon used its elaborate and innovative IT structure to dramatically reduce the costs associated with procurement, marketing and distribution of books and created opportunities for customers to obtain the same discounted pricing offered by large book chains along with the convenience of shopping from their home or office with prompt delivery.8
III. Role of Structure in Business-Level Strategy
The ability of a company to create value with its business-level strategy depends on how well senior management is able to combine its functional-based core competencies. A strong set of skills and talents in R&D will be of limited value unless and until the company is able to establish a structure, processes and supporting culture that facilitates coordination between R&D and the members of marketing function who are in touch with customer needs and able to provide R&D with the information necessary to develop new products that will have be perceived as valuable by customers. Obviously the combination of core competencies depends in large part on the choices that are made with regard to design of the organizational structure at the business level and those choices will vary depending on the type of business-level strategy selected for use by the company. For example, the optimal structure for a low-cost strategy will likely be different than the structure used when the company is pursuing a differentiation strategy. In addition, a “focused” low-cost or differentiation strategy, in which the company is competing in one market segment or a very small number of market segments, will call for a different organizational structure than if the company was pursuing the same type of strategy in many different segments.9 In any event, strategic choices will lead to
8 Id. at 216-217. Initially “prompt delivery” meant same day shipment of books arranged through elaborate fulfillment arrangements; however, Amazon took things even further through the development of its e-reader, the “Kindle”, which has allowed customers to immediately access the works of their favorite authors in a convenient format suited to the increasing popularity of mobile devices.
9 Id. at 217. See also White, “Generic Business Strategies, Organizational Context and Performance”; D. Miller, “Configurations of Strategy and Structure,” Strategic Management 7 (1986), 223-249.
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different approaches with respect to specialization, centralization and formalization when creating the appropriate organizational structure.
In order for a company to successfully execute a low-cost strategy it must develop and maintain core competencies in those functional areas that make the greatest contribution to reducing the costs associated with product development and manufacturing.10 In general, the key functional areas for these types of companies are materials management and manufacturing and other functions, such as research and development and marketing, are expected to focus their specific activities on supporting the goal of lowering production costs and converting the savings into higher sales revenues. Accordingly, it is not surprising that a simple mechanistic structure is thought to be most appropriate for a company that has selected a low-cost strategy. These companies are not interested in engaging in expensive and highly risky new product development projects and usually wait until a competitor has introduced a new or improved product and a market for that product has been established. At that point the low-cost company focuses on imitating the competitor’s product and achieving a competitive advantage through lower production costs that allow the company to undercut the prices being charged by competitors who had been first in the market. Centralized decision making and standardized rules and procedures for production activities, including highly structured job roles, are the best way to achieve the necessary control over costs and there is little need for the cross-departmental integration and mutual adjustment associated with organic structures. Contingency theory also supports the notion that simple structures are generally the best choice for companies pursuing low-cost strategies in relatively stable and slowly evolving business environments.11
On the other hand, a company following a differentiation strategy is heavily reliant on its ability to design new and innovative products and get them into the marketplace before its competitors. Cost reduction is less important for this type of company and the primary goal is to complete the development and launch of new products as quickly as possible. Accordingly, the marketing function plays a key role in tracking new product ideas and new product R&D is a primary activity. In order for the differentiation strategy to be successful an organic structure is the preferred approach since it lays the necessary organizational foundation for efficient communication among all functional areas and facilitates the rapid decision making required to keep product development projects on track. For example, companies seeking differentiation need close collaboration among all of the functional groups in the value-creation process—research and development, manufacturing, marketing and sales—and this is best achieved by deploying autonomous cross-functional teams that manages all aspects of the product development and launch process free of the tall hierarchy, centralization and rigid job specifications and rules associated with a mechanistic structure. Contingency theory predicts that companies in relatively unstable and rapidly changing business environments, which require
10 Id. at 218. See also S. Kotha and D. Orne, “Generic Manufacturing Strategies: A Conceptual Synthesis,” Strategic Management Journal, 10 (1989), 211-231.
11 Id. at 218-219. See also P.R. Lawrence and J.W. Lorsch, Organizational Environment (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1967).
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continuous development of new differentiated products, are most likely to be pushed toward complex organic organizational structures that are most conducive to coordination and integration of functional activities.12
Business-level strategy also includes decisions about which of the main types of organizational structure—functional, divisional or matrix—is best suited for successful execution of the company’s operational activities in each of its target markets. In general, three factors are most relevant to the choice that must be made by the senior management team. First, as the range of products and services offered by the company expands the organizational structure must be able to provide increasing levels of control and coordination with respect to development, production and marketing activities. Second, as the company increases its focus on specific customer segments it will need an organizational structure that can quickly and efficiently satisfy the unique requirements of each segment. Finally, if and when the pace of new product development accelerates within the domains in which the company is competing, it must establish an organizational structure that facilitates the type of cross-functional coordination necessary for continuous innovation and refreshment of the company’s product line.13
There is evidence of strong correlations between business-level strategy (i.e., low-cost or differentiated) and the optimal form of organizational structure. For example, a low-cost strategy is typically used by companies that limit the size of their product line as part of their effort to remain focused on reduction of production and marketing expenses. These companies do not have to worry about managing expansive and diverse product lines nor do they typically attempt to cater to specific customer groups. They also avoid the race to be first to market with new products and generally follow a strategy of low-price imitation once competitors have established the market that reduces the need for cross-functional coordination. Because of all these factors a low-cost business-level strategy can usually be implemented and sustained with a fairly simple functional-based organizational structure. On the other hand, a differentiated strategy calls for a large product line, customization to the needs of specific customer groups, and continuous innovation with respect to product development. As such, a company pursuing a differentiated business-level strategy will generally find it best to use a more complex organizational structure, with the type of structure being driven by the factor that is more important in the company’s specific differentiation strategy. For example, if product diversity is paramount the company should adopt a product division structure; if identifying and satisfying the needs of customer segments is most important than a market or geographic structure would serve the company best; and a matrix structure or product teams should be used when success depends primarily on rapid development and introduction of new technologies and products.14
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Case Study: Menno Henneveld Leadership Lecture

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Case Study: Menno Henneveld Leadership Lecture
Student’s essays will be assessed primarily on the ability to recognise, analyse and discuss the
key issues, theories and
practices relevant to the case study as well as the inter-linkages. Please refer to the Assessments
tab on Blackboard for further
details.
It is important for students to bear in mind that their essay needs to be well structured and
coherent such that it :
– clearly communicates their insightful and critical thinking.
– adheres to the Chicago referencing style (16th Edition)
– adheres to the minimum amount of academic (peer-reviewed journal articles) sources is 10 –
students will be penalised
5% for every missing/inappropriate source
– is accompanied by the assignment cover sheet. The assignment cover sheet can be downloaded from
Blackboard.
– it adheres to the word limit: 2000 – students are given a leeway of 10% (1800 words or 2200
words. This word limit
does not include the cover page or reference list). Students will be penalised 10% for every 20
words over/under the
stipulated word count
– clearly reflects your tutor’s name on the cover sheet. Failure to do so may result in late
penalties or the essay not being
marked. Therefore, it is the student’s responsibility to ensure they know who their tutor is before
the due date.
– it coherently structured. Students are encouraged to use headings and subheadings in their essay;
Human Resource Management Introduction 2008
Assignment 1 – Case Study: Menno Henneveld Leadership Lecture
Menno Henneveld was the Commissioner of Main Roads Western Australia for a 10 year period between
2002 and 2012. Following a long and distinguished career in the Water Corporation he was an
external appointment to an organisation that always appointed their CEOs from within the
organisation.
Menno came into an organisation that was very traditional, built on history, a respect for
authority and a reputation for excellence. There were high expectations of him as the organisation
had undergone considerable change in the preceding years and it was generally believed that he
would continue the change and restructure Main Roads, reduce the workforce and introduce a
commercial culture with external recruitment from the private sector. Within the organisation
there was a degree of uncertainty and nervousness that there would be more job losses and wage
reductions.
For his first 6 months in Main Roads, Menno spent his time moving around the organisation, meeting
people, understanding what they did, and listening to their stories, their ideas and their
concerns. The people in Main Roads found him a very friendly, engaging, and supportive person and
warmed to him. But they still did not know what his intentions as a CEO were for Main Roads.
In his sixth month Menno made his first strategic decision as Commissioner. He organised a
workshop of 100 people from across Main Roads. This included executives, managers, administration
officers, professionals, road workers and so on. There were people who had been in the
organisation for 40 years and others who had only been employed 6 months earlier; there were people
in their sixties,and some in their twenties. Over the next 5 days this group worked full-time on
identifying the values that formed the culture of Main Roads. The values and behaviours were
finalised over the next 3 months and these became the foundations on which Menno developed his
strategy for Main Roads over the next 10 years. He believed that by understanding the culture of
an organisation you can identify its strengths, opportunities and the commitment of its people to
achieve the goals and objectives set for it.
Menno always used the catch-phrase in his presentations, “Main Roads are its people, without them
there would be no organisation”. He never referred to them as employees, it was always Main Roads’
people or the Main Roads’ Team.
During his time as Commissioner Menno made every major decision based on Main Roads’ values and its
impact on the workforce. When he left the organisation there was a general sense of loss by the
workforce and many employees were very upset at his departure.
Menno came to Main Roads at a time when it was an organisation with a very good reputation and good
people. When he left it was a great organisation, seen as visionary, with an excellent strategy
and significant achievements in the area of infrastructure in Western Australia. He received a
number of Western Australian and national awards, and was a national finalist in HR Awards, on a
number of occasions, in recognition for his innovative work in human resource management.
Menno recently spoke to Curtin academics and students about his leadership style and the way in
which he approached human resource management. The recording of Menno’s speech is uploaded on
under the Assessments tab in Blackboard. Students are advised to watch the video and write a 2,000
word essay addressing the two questions below:
1. What workplace diversity issues would Mr Henneveld have encountered at Main Roads Western
Australia?
In answering this question, students should:
a) Define diversity and diversity management
b) Explain the impact of diversity on HRM
c) Provide examples from the case study of what various aspects of diversity Mr Henneveld
would have had to manage
2. Provide recommendations on how Mr Henneveld could successfully manage diversity at the
individual, group and organisational levels?
In answering this question, students should:
a) Identify the challenges/issues associated with diversity at the individual, group and
organisational level
b) Provide recommendations (2 recommendations for each level) on HR strategies that could be
adopted to overcome the challenges/issues faced at each level.
HINT: Students may want to consider referring to week 9 Lecture on Diversity as a precursor to
gaining a preliminary understanding of the topic.


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