Management and Business Context Wesfarmers Limited

Question: Discuss about the Management and Business Context for Wesfarmers Limited. Answer: Introduction: Wesfarmers faces critical issues like Customer Relationship issue, Innovation and technology issues, Employee turnover issues, High competition in the industry, Supply chain management issues, conflicts in management and employees, Lower sales, Resistance to Change and more. In Wesfarmers, Customers Plays major role in the productivity and profitability of the organisation (Cavusgil, et al., 2014). This is because the customers determine what is to be sold in the market. If the company considers the choices, trends and needs of the customers, the customers will be satisfied. Customer satisfaction is the ultimate aim of any organization. Meeting customers expectations can lead to the higher profits and success of Wesfarmers. The organisations must attract the customers by providing them excellent services and products. The decisions regarding the purchase of products, quality selection are taken after considering the choices and demands of the customers. It leads to better customer sa tisfaction and hence, better reputation of Wesfarmers in the market (Pojasek, 2013). The supermarket has to select an appropriate marketing channel as per its potential and cost to the business. The channels can be smartphones, social media, print media, digital media, etc. The company has to choose the marketing channel and design strategies which satisfies customers the most. For successful future business, Wesfarmers has to choose right marketing channel which can reach its customers in the best possible way. Another critical issue is of employees. In the supermarket industry, employees play an important role as they are the ones who provide services to the customers. According to Conner (2013), the employees must be fully trained and skilled so that can provide a competitive edge to the company. Decisions have to be taken regarding the selection of employees and allocation of duties as per their qualification and skills. The employees must be rich in cultural diversity so that they can interact with the customers coming from different backgrounds. The internal communication between employees defines the culture of the organisation. Healthy culture promotes the long term success of Wesfarmers and helps in taking sound decisions for future (Willcocks, 2016). There are some domestic and internal factors which affect the business strategies and structures. These are the critical issues which directly affect the success of Wesfarmers. Globalisation is one such critical issue which is the top concern in todays market. Because of the emergence of diverse cultures prevailing in the country, the supermarket has to take care of the different needs and cultures of the customers (Vasconcellos Botelho, 2014). Wesfarmers have to understand the international markets and cultures in order to manage globalisation and to compete with the global players like Aldi. The company has to penetrate into new markets with its existing products as per the needs of the population (Vasconcellos Botelho, 2014). Technology is one such important factor which determines the success of the business in the industry. A supermarket industry of Australia is very competitive because of which Wesfarmers has to make good investment in its technologies in order to be at pace with the other service providers. It provides a competitive advantage and also assists the organisation in meeting the uncertain challenges and events (Baroto, Abdullah Wan, 2012). Technological factors affect the financial decisions as well as human resource decisions of the business. For adopting latest technologies, the company need to arrange more funds and they also have to train the employees for using the newer technologies in the business (Birnleitner, 2013). For e.g. Wesfarmers is running its business through online platform for which it needs to expand its IT team for designing its online stores and maintaining the online rush on the website. Legal factors are the matter of concern for supermarket industry. Wesfarmers have to take care of the laws like consumer laws, Employment laws, Health and safety laws, etc. in order to prevent itself from getting into any legal complications. Wesfarmers have to take decisions as to how it can comply with the legal implications of the government. It affects the public image as well as smooth operations of the company (Balkyte Tvaronavi?iene, 2010). The suppliers and distribution channels also plays a significant role in the smooth operations of the company. Wesfarmers may face challenge due to the uncertainty in the demand of products. In that case, the company have to make changes in its inventory levels. Wesfarmers also varies the prices of its products as per the demand of the product. The company need to design specific supply chain strategies for ensuring lower costs and for minimising the risks (Kronsbein, Meiser Leyer, 2014). Wesfarmers have to take care of its competitors as well. It needs to perform better than its competitors for which it must be aware of the activities of the competitors. Competitor analysis can be done for this purpose. As per Cuellar-Healey Gomez (2013), competitor analysis can be referred as to the analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors so that the company can identify its own threats and opportunities. The company, in response, design its own strategies to match up the actions of the competitors. This may also bring changes in the structure of the organisation. Wesfarmers may change its organisation structures as per the need of the business. Moral issues are also faced by Wesfarmers in normal course of business. In the struggle of becoming better than the rest of the players in the industry, the companies also have to take care of the moral principles and ethics. The company need to maintain trust among employees, customers, management and other stakeholders. This ensures the long term success of the company (Cuellar-Healey Gomez, 2013). Fund management is another critical issue. For smooth operations and maximum efficiency from the business, it is very important to handle funds in the business. Adequate Cash flow generation is must for the long term success of the firm. The company has to change its strategies of lending and borrowing in order to maintain adequate cash flow balance. Wesfarmers may face uncertainty due to the economic conditions of the country. It also affects the long term goals of the company for which the business need to make strategies so that the ill effects of down economy remains for the short term and not for the longer period of time. The global economic crisis affected the business of Wesfarmers because of the lower demand from the side of customers and lower level of investment from the creditors. For facing the uncertainties, risk management is to be adopted (Choudhury, 2016). As per Heinz- Peter (2010), Risk Management is identification, assessment and management of risks of the business. Wesfarmers face risk of constantly changing trends and choices of the customers. Changing dynamics has changed the preferences of the customers. The supermarket need to bring change in its price strategies, quality, marketing strategies, inventory management and other strategies in order to manage the risks of the business properly. There are econo mic risks, legal risks, financial risks and social risks which affect the effectiveness and profit margins of the supermarket. This is a crucial issue and the company need to develop effect strategies in order to meet or manage the risks (Gest, 2012). Internal factors like relationships between employees and management also affect the decision making of the business. If there are cordial relationships among the employees and between employees and management, it becomes easier for the management to take effective decisions. It becomes easier for the management to discuss with the employees and take final decision which benefits both the employees and the company (Choudhury, 2016). On the other hand, bitter relations between the employees and the management create issues in acceptance of changes and thus, the company faces ineffectiveness in its operations. These issues affect the strategies and structures of the business. Effective communication strategies are required to handle these issues in the company. The structures of the business have to be made simpler so that effective communication can be maintained between different levels of management in the organisation (Choudhury, 2016). It can be concluded that in the modern business world, the large scale organisations like Wesfarmers face a lot of critical issues. These issues can be internal like employee relations, customer relationships, supply chain management or issues from competitors. The issues can also be external like political issues, social issues, legal issues or technological issues. Wesfarmers has to handle these issues in order to gain success in the longer business period. These issues affect the strategies and structures of the business. It also affects the decision making of Wesfarmers which ultimately provides an impact on the productivity and success of the business. References Balkyte, A Tvaronavi?iene, M (2010). 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