Vision And Mission Statement
The mission statement for Rainbarrel Products Company is to make Rainbarrel products one of the leading products in the market through proper product development techniques. The organization is focussed on the maintenance of a good customer service and satisfaction program. They seek to maintain high employee morale through a reward system that combines financial and non- financial rewards.
They also aspire to have a positive impact on the community through involvement in the activities of the community through corporate social responsibility. Above all, they intend to maintain high standards of transparency, honesty and equity in all organizational activities.
Swot Analysis
A SWOT analysis is a tool that defines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in an organization. Opportunities and threats represent factors that are beyond the control of the organization i.e. the external environment. Strengths and weaknesses on the other hand represent factors within the control of the organization i.e. internal factors.
Strengths
represent the factors within an organization that put it at a competitive advantage against its competitors. They include factors such as internal resources and assets that are in most cases hard to find. Other strengths may be in the culture of the organization and the integration of the culture in the objectives of the organization.
A culture of good leadership, good management styles, work ethics and beliefs can also be company strengths. From the case study, Rainbarrel Company has been able to achieve good employee efficiency at the customer service call centre and productivity has gone up. Although we do not know whether the quality of service is good, this can be exploited and used to enhance performance.
Rainbarrel has also been able to achieve a lean labour base. There was a cut in the head count at the company which has led to increased productivity; this can be harnessed and converted into a positive growth. There is a reward scheme structure in place that can be streamlined for better results and the company is gifted with able and visionary leaders who can help it grow into a more successful business.
Weaknesses
Is lack of good customer service. Customers from Rainbarrel production constantly complain of poor services. The retired staff have also complained of mistreatment by the sales team.
It was also clear in the case that the management does not work under an agreed budget; instead it works on the basis of following the good ideas. This poses a high risk to the company because the spending is not structured and can lead to misappropriation and/or wastage of funds. This would also affect the long term operations of the organization.
The staff at Rainbarrel are demotivated because there is a feeling that management laid off the best talent and offered the remaining average performers better packages. There is also a feeling that Hiram concentrates on rewarding short term performance without considering the effect on the organization in the long run. There is therefore, a general lack of motivation in the staff which must be addressed for better performance.
From the case study, top management does not seem to have effectively communicated the strategy down to the lower level staff. There is no ‘buy in ‘from the employees and they seem not to understand the intention of the employed strategies.
The reward system has also been structured in a way that encourages unhealthy competition and poor service. There are no measures to ensure that the customers get high quality service and the bonuses are based on operational processes, like length of calls, rather than results e.g. customer feedback.
One of the main opportunities identified for Rainbarrel is in the implementation of a change management program to get ‘buy-in’ from the lower level staff and restructuring to enable positivity and productivity. Rainbarrel has a fairly good strategy although the implementation is poor.
Top management must communicate the company strategy to the lower level staff and performance management tracked more closely, to include customer feedback, in order to successfully implement the company strategy.
The culture at Rainbarrel is also all wrong; there must be a change management program in place to help change the negative attitude at Rainbarrel to a positive and responsive culture. This would enable Rainbarrel retain its customers and have better results.
Threat
The main threat facing Rainbarrel production is from its competitors who are capable of taking over Rainbarrel’s customers. The customer service is very poor at Rainbarrel and there is a high likelihood of Rainbarrel’s clients moving to competition.
Another threat is the possibility of Rainbarrels clients sharing their bad experiences with other potential clients. This would have a negative impact on the performance of Rainbarrel because potential clients would be led away.
Additionally, there is the threat of disillusionment of staff at the company; this would not just mean poor service but could also lead to loss of top talent as staff can seek employment somewhere else where they feel more appreciated and secure.
SWOT matrix
SWOT matrix is a tabular representation of an organization’s internal and external factors.
One of the alternative strategies that I would recommend for Rainbarrel production is that the company must put in place properly defined communication channels throughout the organization. Communication is vital to the successful implementation of business strategies because management can use it as a tool to communicate company goals and objectives to all levels of staff.
A good communication channel is characterized by free and continuous feedback from all levels of staff. I would suggest that management uses a variety of channels in communicating the strategy to the staff.
They could use e mail, memos, internal newsletters and other non-conventional ways like internal posters and so on. Strategy could also be communicated during meetings. The more the strategy is communicated, the more likely it is to sink into the company culture.
Secondly, I would recommend that the management of Rainbarrel put in place a reward scheme that is performance based and not demeaning to staff. The scheme should be structured to ensure that top performers are rewarded without embarrassing the average performers. There should also be a means of supporting the poor performers so that they can attain good competency.
Another strategy that I would recommend is the establishment of a performance management framework that would ensure that employees are paid for what they have worked for and are constantly appraised and reviewed. I would suggest a performance management system that does not focus on the processes but on the outcome of the processes.
In customer service for example, I would suggest that the personnel be rewarded based on the customer feedback and on the overall customer experience rather than the number of calls handled.
I would also want the management at Rainbarrel to introduce a means of tracing the resolution of customer issues as a process and have the customers give feedback on whether or not they are satisfied by the way in which their issues are managed.
Finally, I would suggest the formation of a results management office. This office would be responsible for the implementation of the above strategies and would have a means of measuring the key performance indicators against set goals.
A Focus on results rather than processes would be emphasised in the results management office. It would also be an avenue for two-way communication between staff, management and other stake holders. Any concerns from staff could then be addressed through this office and management can use it to re-emphasize the importance of vital areas of the strategy.