Example 4:  Defining an organization in terms of its elements and issues

The following is an example of using the model with a retail organization  Although the issues, in this example, are shown on a single line, with only one instance of each usually being given - in practice there would be a much fuller treatment of each issue.

For example, under the analysis of 'innovation' the ability to encompass new working practices is cited. However, there could be many other examples of innovation, such as the ability to change the layout of stores, the ability to change the mix of employees or the ability to change suppliers. Indeed, an issue itself could take a whole report to cover, for example, the strategy with regard to the skills of employees.


Identity
Name
Analysis - Registered name: Ashley Home Furnishings Limited. Trading name: Ashley's.
Evaluation - Gives an up-market sound compared to similar stores.
Strategy - To get 50 per cent of the local population to recognize the name.

Constitution
Analysis - Private, family owned business.
Evaluation - Similar stores are owned by large multiples rather than family owned.
Strategy - To widen ownership to employees.

Reputation
Analysis - The percentage of repeat or recommended customers.
Evaluation - Thought to be slightly higher than competitors.
Strategy - To be known as the most up-market store in the area.

Impact
Analysis - Distinctive shop front and staff uniform.
Evaluation - It is felt that the store interiors are not distinctive enough.
Strategy - To produce a recognizable style of store interior.


Purpose
Raison d'etre
Analysis - The provision of well designed and produced furniture, furnishings and decor.
Evaluation - Well in line with the aspirations of the management and staff.
Strategy - To concentrate on high value, exclusive products.

Core values
Analysis - Not allow price to compromise quality.  All employees share in the success of the business.
Evaluation - More specific than competitors.
Strategy - To have only a few, well defined values, which are then communicated to all employees.

Vision
Analysis - A store in every major UK city within 10 years.
Evaluation - Similar organizations are more regionally based.
Strategy - To convey the vision to employees, customers and suppliers.

Mission
Analysis - To double the size of the business in three years by organic growth (rather than by takeovers).
Evaluation - Will take longer to accomplish than by acquisitions.
Strategy - To produce a plan with the help of external consultants.

Key policies
Analysis - Pay suppliers within 30 days. Refund money to customers without question.
Evaluation - More ethically based policies than competitors.
Strategy - To use policies to promote the integrity of the business.

Target market
Analysis - Middle-class, high-income families.
Evaluation - Too narrow a market.
Strategy - Increase sales to commercial organizations.


Structure
Physical deployment
Analysis - Three stores and a warehouse in the south-east of England.
Evaluation - Not a large enough base of stores to be really profitable.
Strategy - Add one store per year.

Functional composition
Analysis - Sales departments, back office, warehouse, delivery, personnel, IT.
Evaluation - Each department needs more 'best practice' procedures.
Strategy - To improve the communications between different areas.

Roles and jobs
Analysis - Manager, sales person, supervisor, buyer, accountant, secretary.
Evaluation - The proportion of  sales trainees is too small.
Strategy - Reduce managers, increase sales staff.

Workplaces
Analysis - Office, shop floor, warehouse, returns desk, buyer’s office, delivery trucks.
Evaluation - Lighting not up to latest recommendations.
Strategy - Reduce time spent at home resulting from workplace injuries.

Reporting structure
Analysis - Managing director, store manager, department managers, supervisors, sales staff.
Evaluation - Each level has too few staff reporting to it.
Strategy - Reduce the time taken for information to travel down the management chain.

External infrastructure
Analysis - Suppliers, chamber of commerce, local government, press.
Evaluation - Interfaces between external organizations are not managed well.
Strategy - Improve the relationships with external organizations.


Participants
Owners
Analysis - The Ashley family, directors, various individuals.
Evaluation - The number of shareholders is too small.
Strategy - Widen the share ownership.

Managers
Analysis - Chairman, directors, store managers, warehouse manager, senior buyer, personnel manager.
Evaluation - Average age higher than industry norm.
Strategy - Reduce the average age of managers.

Workers
Analysis - Sales staff, warehousemen, secretaries, delivery drivers.
Evaluation - Too high a turnover of staff.
Strategy - Retain staff for longer periods.

Channel
Analysis - Stores, mail order, Internet.
Evaluation - Mail order side is proving difficult to grow.
Strategy - Increase the number of stores.

Customers
Analysis - Individuals, families, small businesses, hotels.
Evaluation - Amount spent per customer per year is too small
Strategy - Increase size of each order.

Suppliers
Analysis - 23 furniture makers, 3 carpet suppliers, 4 fabric wholesalers, 2 office suppliers, 4 IT suppliers.
Evaluation - Probably too many furniture makers and IT suppliers.
Strategy - Reduce the number of suppliers and improve quality.

Partners
Analysis - Brown's Emporium (for training purposes), Kingston Design Centre.
Evaluation - Have made little use of alliances in the past year.
Strategy - Increase the benefits, which associating with other organizations bring.

Indirect participants
Analysis - Families of employees, suppliers to the suppliers of Ashley.
Evaluation - Approximately 1000 family members of employees depend on the success of the store.
Strategy - To involve families more in the stores' operation.

Neighbours
Analysis - Residents living near stores, other businesses in the vicinity of each store.
Evaluation - Residents complain about early morning delivery trucks.
Strategy - Reduce the number of complaints from 30 per year to 5.


Enablers
Land and buildings
Analysis - Freehold of three stores, leasehold of warehouse with another three acres of land.
Evaluation - Freehold gives security and future realizable value.
Strategy - All future stores and additional warehouses to be bought freehold.

Technology
Analysis - Telephone system, IT systems, warehouse handling systems, trucks.
Evaluation - Telephone system needs updating. Too many suppliers of IT.
Strategy - Review equipment for in-store security.

Intellectual property
Analysis - The company's name and logo. The designs that it produces for customers.
Evaluation - The designs produced are not secure and sometimes find their way to competitors.
Strategy - To vigorously protect all intellectual property.

Information
Analysis - Products, customers, suppliers, employees, sales, orders, financial.
Evaluation - Poor information on buying habits of individual customers.
Strategy - To implement a foolproof security and recovery system for data.

Skills
Analysis - Selling, buying, negotiating, computing, managing.
Evaluation - Negotiating skills need improving to get better deals.
Strategy - Everyone to have at least five days training per year.

Core competencies
Analysis - To present an ambience of luxury, quality and professional service.
Evaluation - Ashley's provide a very up-market environment.
Strategy - To get the different departments working better together.

Relationships
Analysis - Customers, suppliers, local government departments, local newspapers.
Evaluation - Certain managers adopt a bullying approach to external organizations.
Strategy - Use consultants to train appropriate managers in handling external organizations.

Financial resources
Analysis - Working capital, investments, loans.
Evaluation - Existing finance is inadequate for future expansion.
Strategy - To put in place a source of capital for future expansion.


Activities
Line-of-business
Analysis - Buying, selling, warehousing, delivering, invoicing.
Evaluation - Many of the activities are subject to errors.
Strategy - To increase skills and introduce 'best practice' where appropriate.

Support
Analysis - Training, personnel, marketing and advertising, IT, staff restaurant.
Evaluation - Takes too much of the company's resources and budget.
Strategy - To increase effectiveness, by subcontracting these activities outside.

Management
Analysis - Board meetings, strategy planning, formulating staff objectives, reviewing salaries.
Evaluation - Probably too many meetings.
Strategy - To increase management visibility and reduce the time spent in meetings.

Compliance
Analysis - VAT, annual financial returns, Health & Safety checks, minimum wage returns.
Evaluation - Procedures are applied efficiently.
Strategy - To produce the necessary information as a by-product of operational activities.

Incidental
Analysis - Christmas party for employees' children, staff days out, sponsoring local hospital radio station.
Evaluation - There are more of these activities than competitors have.
Strategy - To reduce activities to those that actually promote the store.


Deliverables
Products
Analysis - Furniture, carpets, decor (curtains, lighting, pictures).
Evaluation - The products are the most up-market in the area.
Strategy - To select products as part of a distinctive style.

Services
Analysis - Design, delivery of furniture, alterations and modifications.
Evaluation - The design staff need some new ideas.
Strategy - Employ a young professional designer.


Influences
Constraints and pressures
Analysis - Availability of suitable staff, Green issues, planning regulations.
Evaluation - Employment laws together with Health & Safety issues cause managers most problems.
Strategy - More effective planning around possible constraints.

Risks and threats
Analysis - Loss of computer data, fire, loss of chief buyer, higher interest rates.
Evaluation - More exposed than average to economic cycles.
Strategy - To insure against as many risks as possible, e.g. loss of key staff.

Opportunities
Analysis - Furnishing offices, catalogue on the Internet, selling to well off retired people.
Evaluation - Should follow the trend for higher quality, craftsman made luxury goods.
Strategy - Exploit technology, Internet, virtual reality, computer aided design.

Competitors
Analysis - Quality stores in London such as Harrods. Small firms of craftsmen.
Evaluation - Similar quality products always seem to be cheaper in other stores.
Strategy - To increase the perceived quality of the products and services.


Culture
Management style
Analysis - Not very visible, but interested in the welfare of staff.
Evaluation - More paternalistic than competitors.
Strategy - Increase visibility and professionalism of Board members.

Rules and customs
Analysis - Promotion by age rather than ability, working unsociable hours at normal rates of pay.
Evaluation - Environment rather outdated and amateurish.
Strategy - Introduce more professional standards.

Social behaviour
Analysis - Staff associate with each other outside work, friendly atmosphere, high standard of manners.
Evaluation - A more friendly and cohesive environment than competitors have.
Strategy - Staff to be less tolerant of unprofessional behaviour in colleagues.

Attitude to work
Analysis - Most staff enthusiastic, low absenteeism, staff resist change.
Evaluation - Staff more loyal but also more conservative than competitors.
Strategy - Staff to become more flexible with regard to their work.

Benefits and perks
Analysis - Good staff discounts, private health cover for managers, pension scheme.
Evaluation - Perks and benefits depend very much on status.
Strategy - To provide more uniform benefits.

Personal development
Analysis - Standard courses, ad hoc courses, yearly training reviews of staff.
Evaluation - Training is less than satisfactory, budget for courses is too low.
Strategy - Introduce a mentoring system.


Performance
Scale
Analysis - Three stores employing approximately 350 people.
Evaluation - Number of stores is too low for efficient operation.
Strategy - Double the size of the operation within three years.

Efficiency
Analysis - Sales per square foot, sales per employee.
Evaluation - Better than the industry average for this type of store.
Strategy - To improve all our efficiency measures by 20 per cent during the next year.

Empathy
Analysis - Number of customer complaints, time to pay suppliers, care of employees.
Evaluation - Most are better than the industry average.
Strategy - To gain a reputation as the leading retail employer in each town.

Innovation
Analysis - The speed at which new working practices can be introduced.
Evaluation - Somewhat slower than the competition and more training needed.
Strategy - Set up a formal system for introducing new working practices.

Financial
Analysis - Balance sheet, profit & loss account, various ratios (sales/employee, sales/overhead, etc.).
Evaluation - Profit low in relation to turnover, overheads too large, sales/employee is good.
Strategy - Increase profit to fund future expansion.
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