Executive Summary
Applying Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to the Australian company known as Woolworths and the Macro product line that it has recently launched, one will be able to determine the presence of vast corporate issues that need to be managed. To define the extent and magnitude of these issues, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs was adopted as the evaluation tool. Woolworths’ Macro currently meets nearly all of the requirements set by Maslow’s Hierarchy, yet the issue of self-actualization could use certain improvements to ensure high customer loyalty rates.
Introduction
Among recent projects in the Australian retail sector, Woolworth’s Macro has attained particular success yet certain improvements may be needed. The analysis will allow determining whether the company has the potential for further expansion into other markets and introducing innovative solutions to current concerns (Cao et al., 2013). Although the firm has managed to fulfill the social needs of its customers, the further focus on the opportunities for customers’ self-actualization will need to be analyzed.
To analyze the progress made by Woolworth’s Macro, one will need to take a glance at the retail industry, in general. The specified segment of the Australian market has been experiencing rapid growth recently. Emerging as a response to buyers’ need for fast access to key products such as food and clothes, Woolworth has grown despite rather stiff competition with companies such as Coles and Metro. However, Woolworths’ Macro product line has shown that people are highly attracted to healthy food, mainly due to the current trend for a healthy lifestyle and the concerns for health on a global level (Cao et al., 2013).
Thus, it is critical to study the current state of the organization and introduce appropriate changes. The report will evaluate the current course of the project’s development and state the objectives that Woolworths should pursue in terms of its further expansion of the Macro project’s range and exploring its potential. The assessment of Woolworths’ Macro project will be performed based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Thus, a profound understanding of the effects that it produces on Woolworths’ customers, as well as the urgency of changes, will be developed.
Aims of the Report
The goals of the study include the assessment of the extent to which customers at Woolworth’s experience fulfillment. Specifically, the study will define the rates of satisfaction among Woolworths customers based on Maslow’s hierarchy. The results of the analysis inform further choices regarding the company’s Macro project.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Before the assessment of Woolworths’ current framework of meeting the needs of its buyers, one should review the hierarchy of needs as a framework for evaluating the extent of people’s satisfaction. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs was created by Abraham Maslow in 1943. The theory explained the factors that motivate people and contribute to their satisfaction rates. According to Maslow, people’s needs could be split into the following categories: physiological and safety-related needs, and the needs for social belonging, esteem, and self-actualization (Oluyitan, 2016).
Physiological needs include basic requirements such as food and water, while the need for safety implies that people have to feel secure and comfortable to function and enjoy their lives (Tsai, Hsu, & Lee, 2017). The need for social belonging largely implies building social ties with family members and friends. However, the specified aspect of Maslow’s hierarchy may also signify social approval, such as the standards for attaining a particular social status.
The need for esteem serves as the umbrella term for status requirements, such as one’s ability to purchase expensive products that imply one’s high social status. In turn, the need for self-actualization suggests pursuing the goals associated with personal growth (Conley, 2017; Acevedo, 2018). The theoretical framework will guide one through the changes and possible solutions. Specifically, the proposed framework will define problems in the current approach adopted within Woolworths’ Macro project.
Although one might argue that food as a product is expected to address only the lower tier of Maslow’s hierarchy, which includes basic needs and safety, it, can be seen as a marker of one’s social status. Moreover, the issue of self-esteem can be addressed by viewing the Macro project through a social and cultural prism. Thus, positive changes can be introduced to the Macro project.
Analysis and Evaluation of Woolworths Macro Range
The approach that the organization currently adopts to meet the needs of its buyers on the macro level can be described as satisfactory, yet it could use certain improvements. With an in-depth evaluation of the key issues that the Woolworths products incorporate, one will be able to locate the strategies for improving the current approach toward production and marketing processes (Mathews & Linski, 2016). Specifically, one will be capable of determining the future directions that the organization will need to take to enhance its presence in the Australian market and expand into the global economy setting.
Safety Needs
Compared to the rest of the food that Woolworths has to offer, the Macro product line has achieved impressive quality, which is remarkable progress. With the focus on customers’ health and the active promotion of a healthy lifestyle, the Macro product line allows meeting the basic needs of customers fully (Woolworths, 2018). Therefore, the company needs to maintain the focus on enhancing product quality consistently and ensure that the quality standards for the Macro product line remain high.
The fact that the Macro project has contributed to a steep rise in product quality at Woolworth proves that the specified project is a critical stage in ensuring the well-being and safety of customers, thus meeting the key requirements of the first and second criteria of Maslow’s Hierarchy. Specifically, the Macro Project has allowed introducing healthy food options to buyers, thus meeting both the basic and the safety-related needs of customers according to Maslow’s Hierarchy. With the help of the Macro project, customers can enjoy nutritious (basic need) and healthy (safety needs) food. Thus, Woolworth’s Macro project satisfies customers’ needs for safety and meals as they pertain to Maslow’s Hierarchy.
Esteem Needs
In the case of Woolworths’ Macro project, the tendency to position its Macro products as the ones for the people from the upper-middle to upper class makes the rest of the society reflect on their social position. The organization does not seem to meet customers’ needs associated with their esteem since Woolworths’ Macro project does not concern itself with the idea of the consistent improvement of the rest of its products and services (Rao, Eley, & Delibasic, 2018). Instead, it has created the Macro line only to make the gap between wealthy customers and those with a lower income even greater, albeit unintentionally.
Furthermore, cultural diversification of the Macro products is implemented rather awkwardly within the company, which causes an even greater confusion as far as esteem issues are concerned (Pride & Ferrell, 2016). Although the products introduce to the Macro project line are healthy and varied, they nonetheless do not include the options that would attract customers of different cultures. Thus, further diversification of products is needed to attract people from all cultural backgrounds. Similarly, the social gap between Woolworth’s regular customers and the consumers of Macro products needs to be addressed.
Unlike other organizations that focus on delivering either exclusively health food, like Wholefoods, or the products that are characterized by their high value, Woolworths’ Macro project does not address the problem of the social gap between different types of its customers. As a result, the needs for building esteem are ignored by the firm. The specified issues are admittedly negative and need to be addressed accordingly.
It is currently suggested that the organization should shift toward more communication- and diversity-oriented corporate culture. For example, Woolworths’ Macro project may emphasize promoting the expansion of its product line by incorporating other types of meat and even culture-specific products into it. Thus, the firm will position itself as not only the retailer of healthy products but also the supporter of customers’ need to maintain a healthy lifestyle and their personal growth, in general. Woolworths should alter its current approach toward promoting it to its buyers. The combination of healthy and cost-efficient opportunities for dieting can be regarded as a unique concept in the Australian retail market.
Self-actualization Needs
Contrary to the problems described above, the understanding of customers’ requirements for their self-actualization has risen with the development of the Macro project at Woolworths. Specifically, the relationships between the company and its customers have improved after Woolworths started paying closer attention to the needs of buyers to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Thus, by offering safe dieting choices, Woolworth has proven that it cares for the well-being of its clients, thus causing the levels of loyalty among them to rise systematically (Mitchelson, 2018).
Thus, the Macro line of products at Woolworth has created a plethora of opportunities for buyers to meet their self-actualization needs. With its focus on organic food and the promotion of healthy dieting, the project arguably allows Woolworths’ customers to engage in active personal development and improvement, shaping their perception of their image.
While the idea of starting with the physical appearance and its management might seem somewhat shallow, it does pave the way to further personal progress (Rao et al., 2018). Therefore, Woolworth Macro products offer people a chance to build their self-actualization by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, thus reaching the state of contentment.
Conclusion
According to the assessment based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, its Macro project could use significant improvements in its current strategy. First, Woolworths Macro will need to address the issue of basic needs and ensuring that its products meet the needs of a very diverse audience. Besides, while seemingly irrelevant, the problem of buyers’ esteem needs should be addressed. Particularly, Woolworth may require a more complex system of values and a well-thought-out corporate philosophy that will allow promoting ideas associated with personal growth to its target audience.
Recommendations
To address the problem associated with the need for esteem among customers, a new marketing strategy will have to be integrated into the Walmart Macro project. Particularly, the project will have to show greater awareness about the cultural needs of its customers by diversifying the products and introducing culture-specific options to it. Furthermore, the gap between expensive and cheap products can be managed by positioning each as unique and introducing cheaper products as the ones that are attractive in their simplicity. Specifically, the Macro project will need to ensure that even cheaper products meet the highest quality standards.
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