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Showing posts with the label business strategy

Opening Communication Lines for Better Decision Making

Charles Dickens said in the Tail of Two Cities, “ A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other .” Communication is a process sharing information from one person to the next that lowers this mystery . Problems arise in organizations when communication is not accurate or reflective of actual events . Ensuring lines of communication are open is essential for creating more functional companies through better decision making. Poor communication wastes intangible assets and creates inefficiencies among resources (Mazzei & Ravazzani, 2015; Hola & Pikhart, 2014). Intangible assets form the nucleus of the company and include relationships , intellectual capital , and decision making . What makes one company different from the next are the internal soft mechanics often ignored because they are not easy to define . Misinformat

Using Evolutionary Game Theory to Deter Competitor Market Entry

Companies that innovate lead the market but often attract market chasers that seek to gain financial benefits of producing similar products. For organizations that have invented new products and services this can be an annoying aspect of doing business if high profits must now be shared with other market entry companies. To avoid easy access by competitors a company may desire to use a deterrence or shakeout strategy. A study in the Journal of Academy of Marketing Science discusses how evolutionary game theory is used to understand whether a deterrence strategy and a shakeout strategy are more successful in keeping new businesses of out the market (Homburg, et. al, 2013). The method a company uses will determine whether or not they will be effective in ensure the costs are too high for other firms to pursue. A deterrence strategy seeks to block potential competitors from entering the market. Strategies may include limit pricing, raising switching costs, new innovations

Starbucks Blazes New Trails With Coffee Delivery Service

Starbucks recently announced they will be offering delivery services for their food and beverage items in select locations. To date, details about where products can be delivered, its costs, and how it is going to function have been withheld. Experts are confused as to how any company could offer low cost personalized differences. They do seem to agree that if it works Starbucks will be blazing some new trails in logistics that will be adopted by others. I congratulate Starbucks on creating buzz in the market because there will be a lot of companies watching how they are effectively going to do this on low value purchases.   The media is ablaze about the development and its implications on e-commerce. Uniquely Starbucks is taking sales and delivery down to a micro level not yet seen on a large scale.  Starbucks is trend setting by not only offering deliveries, but also providing pre-order cellphone applications that customers can pick up later. No one wants to wait in a

Does Business Strategy Have an Impact on Work-Life Balance?

Work-life balance is a common HR program that attempts to balance the needs between work and home life. That balance can be difficult to find if one is working in the service industry, consistent overtime, or in a high pressure salaried positions. Taking time to find that balance will help ensure that employees maintain a well-rounded and productive life that takes into account the whole person. The strategy a company uses to manage their business may have an impact on their desire to implement their own work-life balance programs. A regular schedule can help people find a level of consistency that doesn’t occur if schedules are randomly changed every week. The unpredictability of work situations impacts work-life conflict, time-based conflict and strain-based conflict as measured through employee stress (Henly & Lambert, 2014). As schedules move around employees have difficulties planning activities from week to week.  Certain sectors of the labor market have more dif