Example Of Company Profile Of Both Organisations Report

Business Management and Decision-Making Process

Executive summary
The paper is based on analysis of business management and decision making processes of two garment companies i.e. Next Store and New Look. The paper starts with brief introduction in which various issues of the garment industry are presented. The paper proceeds to presenting brief overview of both the companies. A comparison of SWOT analysis of both the companies is also presented in the paper. The paper also discusses about the leadership styles of both the companies while stating issues faced by the companies due to these leadership styles. The paper proceeds to defining the type of organizational culture of both of these companies as it plays an important role in decision making process. Code of ethics are also explained in this paper. The paper ends with a conclusion along with recommendations for the companies.

Introduction

Technology has revolutionized every aspect of business and has enhanced the capacity of production department. The production methods of clothing business has been recently focused on automatic machinery for linking, knitting, decorating, pleating and embroidering. Especially the new flat computerized knitting machines have facilitated the production of knitwear into one single piece and has removed the need for sewing or linking. Many enhancements have taken place in the steps involved in clothing such as a highly sophisticated machine has been recently developed which offers an easy use of an intelligent camera and a screen which is easy to operate. Japanese people have designed a machine for pleating that has rolled out the physical strain in whole folding process.
PLM is defined as the product life cycle management, a set of processes or tools that can be very instrumental in helping the organizations to take necessary measures to manage the development of its different products. This approach is equally significant for all types of business with exception of apparel or textile manufacturing organizations where its importance is little higher than other businesses. These manufacturers need to give quick response to the new fashion trends, they are required to remain in close contact with customers as well as their suppliers in order to remain competitive in the marketplace. PLM approach is very useful in facilitating the internal and external communication of the organizations. This will ensure smooth flow of information within the organization as well as to the outside partners who are involved in the supply chain or product development.
The garment sector is extremely fragmented and highly competitive. There are many competitors such as apparel manufacturers, designers, importers, licensors, distributors and retailers. The nature and level of competition may vary greatly and the intensity as well as the number of direct competitors increases widely as the garments companies expand into other related markets .
The fierce competition, globalization and sharp decline in the product life span in fashion has ultimately cultivated disproportionate consumer behaviour patterns. This situation has posed a number of new and complex challenges on the marketing campaigns of the retailing firms. It is a requisite for garment companies to leverage basic marketing capacities and capabilities in order to perform well in this sector .

New Look
New look started off with its business activities back in 1969 in UK with a single store that used to sell fashion products. The management of the company worked very hard and progressed in a tremendous manner over the years. It has now become one of the most successful brands in the fashion industry with a huge number of customers in different regions of the world. It is very successful and currently having 569 stores worldwide and according to statistical data over 200 stores across Asia, China, Middle East and North Africa .

Next Stores

Next plc was established in 1982 in UK, is basically a retailer and offers a wide range of products including womenswear, menswear, children wear, home interior, accessories, home appliances and related products. There is a central distribution channel of the company through which it distributes its product in its 500 stores located in UK, there are nearly 180 international stores as well. There is a huge number of active customers at its website, an estimated number is over 2 million. There is another business of Next called as Next sourcing, It basically involves buying, designing and sourcing branded products of Next via website wholesale and retail channels. Ventura is another business by which Next offers customer service management to those clients who show disposition to contract out customer contact management. Since its onset Next has established its image as an affordable yet inspirational brand. It has distinctively appealing blend of unique style, value and supreme quality .

Using the SWOT analysis to discuss both organisations operations

Next has strengths that include high performance in recent years, directory sales, a powerful design, and good marketing strategies. On the other hand it has few weaknesses that include overpricing, declining marginal profit, and focus on formal wear only. The opportunities of Next includes optimization of store, focus on internet sales and marketing, expanding business into new markets. The threats that the company is facing are reduction in target market and strong competition from Marks and Spencer.
Strengths of New Look include good pricing, low cost, stylish products, and strong management. On the other hand, the company has one main weakness that is its instable financial status. The company has opportunities in the areas like entry in new markets and innovating new products. The company is facing the threat of products from other competitors and has variable sales .
The leadership style adopted by Next is Charismatic. Charismatic leadership is becoming one of the most popular and workable style of leadership in the emerging management practices. Charismatic leader lead by making an emotional connection with his followers and uses his charisma or charm to aspire people. Charismatic leaders show great concern towards the needs fulfilment of their workers and improve the working conditions at workplace by motivating employees and increasing profits. It is a powerful attribute in winning the confidence of workers and providing them a friendly ambience. Charismatic leaders pay heed to the suggestions and complaints made by the workers and ensure their voice in final decision making . In Next the leadership follows charismatic style and therefore it always have issues such as group think, illusion creation and false estimation about the capacity of the company.
The leadership style of New Look is participative. Participative style of leadership empowers workers to take authority, accountability and responsibility of the assigned task. Participative leader plays a role of facilitator and make ultimate goals and objectives clear before deferring the power to workers. The vision and mission of the organization is communicated effectively to managers and workers and they are expected to translate them into results and achievements. Employees are encouraged to bring innovative solutions and ideas to enhance the productivity. The final decision is made by the leader but collaborative efforts and inputs are contributed by all the employees. New look management believes in participative style and faces certain core issues such as prolonged discussion on issues for the sake of solutions. It takes weeks even months for the management to give a final resolution on any significant issue .
Next Uses functional type of organizational structure to communicate within their respective organizations. The main purpose of functional setup is to assemble each department of the organization in a group based on its core function or purpose. Next has different departments such as finance department, sales department, marketing department, production department and other departments likewise. This structure works effectively for medium size businesses, and the departments relay largely on the potential and talent of their staff members. Nonetheless, there has been observed a drawback in this structure that communication and coordination between different departments is regulated by the boundaries created by the organization because of numerous departments working independently or separately .
Every business has its own documented code of ethics which is very essential for the smooth flow of activities. Breach of any ethical code may cause serious troubles for the company in relation to its customers, suppliers, other companies, stakeholders and even to government authorities. The basic objective of designing code of ethics is to reduce ambiguity, to make decision making process easy and to give substantial importance to the perspective of workers in formulating standards for ethics. Ethical codes are used as yardstick for all type of managerial decisions and in formulating a single framework as base for all decisions. It will reflect the unified understanding of the limitation within the company and the standards to be followed while interacting with stakeholders outside the company. A thoroughly and formally documented code of ethics can be very useful in protecting the legal stance and image or reputation of the company if any serious breach of ethics is done by any employee .
A good example of code of ethics is the Kraft code of ethics which has 10 short principles that control the ethical behavior of employees in organizations .

Conclusion & Recommendations

The company can appoint a designer to plan and design its outfits as done by Topshop, due to the fact that fashion chasers these days are inclined to designers garments subsequently designer’s cloths generate significantly good impression on the minds of customers. Furthermore while using media as a broadcasting source for commercials the company may personify its designers as a perception which could positively affect the customers, as well as fascinate them. Additional hoardings need to be implanted by Next which may be displaying renowned celebrities representing a model for the company. They should enhance their shop services plus color scheme accurately, since customers would be pleased when facilitated. Moreover a complete seasonal concept should be reflected and customers should feel comfortable while visiting the stores. Appropriate themes should be developed to mesmerize the customers. Company manages its advertisement but there are some concerning loopholes which should be addressed by outsourcing advertising services for a limited time.
The percentage of people who have keen interest in fashion and have desire to stay trendy has been rapidly increasing. This gives a tremendous opportunity to fashion businesses to offer desirable fashion at excellent rates and to ensure that people would get exactly what they desired for. New Look has thoroughly understood this concept and inventing improved levels of customer support services and products in order to have highly satisfied customers. The latest technologies are being widely used and have provided the business world with a new concept of digital integrated CRM, it will greatly add to the value of business services. New look has introduced some sophisticated concepts such as settings goods and displaying trends with rational pricing and providing excellent customer support. New look has been very successful in promoting e-marketing and expanding its market share.

References

Edwards, G. (2015, January 3). Famous Examples of Different Leadership Styles. Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com: http://www.brighthub.com/office/home/articles/76450.aspx
ethics.org. (2009, May 29). Why Have a Code of Conduct. Retrieved from http://www.ethics.org: http://www.ethics.org/resource/why-have-code-conduct
Ingram, D. (2015). Importance of Creating a Code of Ethics for a Business. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-creating-code-ethics-business-3094.html
Magloff, L. (2015). Examples of a Code of Ethics for Business. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-code-ethics-business-4885.html
New Look. (2013, December 22). Who are we? Retrieved from http://www.newlookgroup.com: http://www.newlookgroup.com/who-are-we?page=1002
Next PLC. (2015). Our history. Retrieved from http://www.nextplc.co.uk: http://www.nextplc.co.uk/about-next/our-history.aspx
OXM. (2007, July 31). The apparel industry is highly competitive. Retrieved from http://www.wikinvest.com: http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Oxford_Industries_%28OXM%29/Apparel_Industry_Highly_Competitive_Face_Significant_Threats_Business
Rajagopal. (2011). Consumer culture and purchase intentions toward fashion apparel in Mexico. Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 286–307.
Venkataramani, S. (2014, September 9). 6 Leadership Styles: Strengths, Weaknesses and Examples. Retrieved from http://www.9lenses.com: http://www.9lenses.com/6-leadership-styles-strengths-weaknesses-examples
wikiwealth. (2014). New Look SWOT Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.wikiwealth.com: http://www.wikiwealth.com/swot-analysis:new-look
Writing, A. (2015). Different Types of Organizational Structure. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/different-types-organizational-structure-723.html