Introduction
Sherwin Williams is engaged in manufacturing, distributing as well as selling building materials such as paints and coatings. This company operates in America and Europe.
Currently, this organization consists of four segments, namely Global Finishes, Paint Stores, Consumer Group, and Latin American Group.
This paper is aimed at examining the external environment of this company, especially the threats and opportunities to which this enterprise is exposed. Furthermore, it is vital to discuss the way in which this company mentors its employees in order to promote their professional development.
Moreover, one should examine the way in which the competitors of Sherwin Williams approach the mentorship of new hires and their professional development. These are the main questions that should be examined.
External Environment
Sherwin William’s external environment includes four essential elements; in particular, one should speak about customers, economy, competition, and government (Kefalas, 2009).
First of all, it should be mention that clients are critical for critical for the sustainability of Sherwin Williams because their demand determines the financial performance of this enterprise and its market share.
There are four distinct groups; in particular, one can speak about retailers, commercial, professional, and industrial customers. In addition to that, clients can be direct and indirect.
For example, commercial, professional, and industrial customers buy the products directly from the company while the retailers obtain them from the commercial customers.
The management should consider the interest of these stakeholders in order to remain sustainable. The management should remember that these customers can have various needs.
The development of the U.S. economy is another factor that forms the external environment of Sherwin Williams Company. For example, one can mention that the demand for the products of Sherwin Williams depends on the performance of the construction industry.
Moreover, one should focus on the purchasing power of individuals or groups that may need to buy housing or building materials. This is one of the trends that influence the financial performance of this business.
The government affects the operation of the company since it sets policies that govern the corporate entities (Ryu, 2006).
Much attention should be paid to the fiscal policies of the state. For instance, at presently, the state charges a tax of about 12 percent on income (Kefalas, 2009). However, some of the company’s activities such as merging and acquisition are exempted from taxation in the United States.
Additionally, the government has promoted the embracement of corporate social responsibility which Sherwin William must adopt in order to meet the standards set by policy-makers (Kefalas, 2009).
Therefore, it is possible to argue that the government can raise the performance standards that Sherwin Williams has to reach.
Finally, one should not overlook the importance of competition. Among the main rivals of this company, one can distinguish Benjamin Moore, PPG, and BASF.
These companies share the market with Sherwin Williams. Their activities prompt Sherwin William to improve the quality of their products or decrease their prices in order to remain competitive.
Trends and Threats
Sherwin William and its competitors should pay attention to several trends. For instance, the governments and public organizations advocate the use of sustainable building materials. For example, UNEP and IESD support the use of green paints, rather than the synthetic paints.
These organizations invested in the production of paints which will pose a great challenge for Sherwin Williams and its competitors.
Moreover, the Asian countries have adopted the doctrine of sustainable architecture which might challenge the economic viability of the current paints that Sherwin Williams is producing.
This trend can be an extremely significant threat to the existing companies that produce synthetic paints which can produce harmful effects on people’s health.
Therefore, one can say that this organization should develop alternatives to existing products; otherwise this company can become very vulnerable in the future. This is one of the suggestions that can be made.
The competitors of Sherwin William attach importance to mentoring of employees since these activities are critical for the organizational performance. For example, BASF enables trainees to take several positions within the organization.
Moreover, senior managers help the trainees to understand the challenges that they will have to overcome in the future. These orientation programs can last for twenty-four months and during this period new employees can learn more about the functioning of this organization.
For example, they can better understand the production process. Secondly, they can learn more about the needs of clients. In turn, PPG Industries conducts workshops that are aimed at developing mentorship skills of senior managers.
These people should help new hires to gain a better understanding of the way in which this organization functions. Thus, one can say that these companies understand the importance of mentoring. This is one of the details that can be singled out.
Opportunities in the External Environment
There are various opportunities that Sherwin William can use in order to improve its performance. First, the company can rely on its commercial customers while distributing and selling their goods to retailers and industrial customers.
This strategy can save the company the costs of distribution which are incurred since the retailers will obtain the products through commercial customers.
Moreover, the projects carried out by the government can also offer many opportunities to businesses like Sherwin William because the state is a potential customer of the company. In turn, the company should secure governmental contracts.
Public projects can generate significant revenues for Sherwin William because they receive significant funding.
Lastly, the economy of the United States and many other countries around the world is oriented toward construction of affordable housing due to the rising population and increasing demand for infrastructure.
Therefore, the company should take advantage of this opportunity and supply construction materials for the companies that implement these projects.
This strategy should not be restricted only to the United States. Instead, the company should focus on the global economy as a whole and expound its economic boundaries. This strategy can help the company to increase its market share.
Sherwin Williams Employees Mentorship
Sherwin mentorship is based on various techniques that that encourage employees to develop their skills and attain professional growth. For instance, the company adopts the so-called bottom-up approach.
This method implies that junior employees should make decisions and pass them to the seniors for approval. This system enables the junior employees to participate holistically in decision-making process.
In this way, they can learn more about ethical issues, leadership, and responsibilities of senior managers. Moreover, this interaction between colleagues helps trainees to understand their strengths and weaknesses.
As a result, this organization enables workers to translate their theoretical knowledge into practical decisions (Nunez, Dean, & Ottino, 2010). Moreover, they are more ready to take initiatives.
Furthermore, the management of this organization encourages employees to continue their academic career because it is closely related to their professional activities. Lastly, the company has inspirational leaders who act as role models to employees.
For example, one can mention the company’s CEO, Christopher Connor who can inspire and motivate new hires. These people set examples for employees since they are usually admired by trainees.
These leaders are agents of transformation because they can help followers turn into leaders. In addition, the leaders create personal bonds with the employees by creating an environment of mentorship and inspiration (Beckett, 2010).
In this way, the management helps employees to adjust to the requirements of the company. These are the strategies that Sherwin William currently adopts.
Conclusion
This discussion shows that there are several external factors which influence the performance of Sherwin William. Much attention should be paid to the performance of the construction industry, the policies of the state, the attitudes of customers, and the strategies of competitors.
This organization can derive several opportunities from such trends as increasing population or growing number of public construction projects.
Yet, Sherwin Williams should concentrate on the production of ecologically sustainable products because the demand for them can increase in the future.
Furthermore, the examples discussed in this paper show that Sherwin William and its competitors focus on the need for effective mentoring programs.
The senior executives of these organizations understand that the professional development of workers is important for the sustainability of businesses. This is why they develop various mentorship programs.
Reference List
Beckett, J. (2010). Mentorship is the Key Career to Success. Strategic Finance, 94(4), 21.
Kefalas, A. (2009). Analyzing Changes In The External Business Environment. Strategy & Leadership, 9(4), 26-46.
Nunez, A., Dean, R., & Ottino, J. (2010). The Role of Mentorship in Project Performance. Nature Journal, 465(7298), 622.
Ryu, S. (2006). The Effect Of External And Internal Environments On Inter-firm Governance. Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, 13(2), 67-90.