Introduction
In the evolving
market today, it is necessary for an organization to be unique if it desires
sustainability. It is important for an organization to develop such missions
and policies which assist in the progression of an organization and to bring their
theories into practice (Gottlieb, 2007). The most effective way to do that is by
implementing methods that aim to bring change. The report is focused on what
strategies are adapted by an organization for the live up to its requirements
and accomplish its missions. The organization which is enlightened in this
report is the SportDirect.com, this British sports goods Retailer was
established in 1982 by Michael James Wallace commonly known as Mike.
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The report
highlights the concepts of transferable skills and how they are important to be
implemented for the fulfilment of organization’s missions. Furthermore, the
report is based on the values, mission statement, strategies and aims and
objectives of the organization SportsDirect.com. The company is currently
operating worldwide and has 670 store across the globe, 470 of which are only operating
in the UK. The clothes and accessories that the company trades and offers are
all related to sports. The report also focuses on the customer expectations
regarding this organization and what role do the employees play in it.
Literature Review
According to
Gottlieb (2006) the steps that can help an organization to evolve and add value
to their products is by planning the goals that are to be achieved, plan out
the target market, engage with the known and unknown people for the recognition
of brand, create plans and strategies to implement and by supervising progress
and upholding the relations with stakeholders. It must be the core strategy of
an organization to add value to their products which can be done by being in
good terms with the community (Barnes, 2001). It is believed by Gottlieb and
Panepento (2008) that when an organization is motivated to achieve its targets,
it strives to make its vision and mission statement strong and is able to do
more with less when faced with the hard times.
Customer Analysis
Customer
identification is very important for a business. By identifying who are their
customers, a company can easily then advertises their products accordingly.
With the help of knowing their targeted people, Sportsdirect.com can be able to
only channel their products to them. Selling sports gear and items such as
trainers for runners shows that their target customers will be people either
into sportswear, sports, health and fitness as well as casual wear.
The chief focus
of an organization must be to satisfy its customer’s need and to find out
different ways to attract the customers (Zeithaml et al., 2006). The company SportsDirect.com has never been much
able to fulfil the desires of its customers. Providing best customer services
has never been the focus of the company. The employees there look just as
confused as the customers. The company has lack of order in the workplace which
does not satisfy the people as they come to shop for the relaxation of mind and
to get what they desire but after taking in the disturbed service it all goes
away (Wallop, 2015). It has also been in the lists of complaints by the customers
that there wasn’t even any a place to sit in the shoe area making everyone
think how to try the trainers they want? (Portas, 2013)
Apart from all
these issues that the Sports Direct possesses, the main thing that satisfies
the customers at maximum and makes them ignore all the negative parts is that
the company offers the expensive brands in lowest possible price which is satisfactory
for the customers. According to Ojasalo (2001) managing of customer’s
expectations in the professional area is the main duty of the workers and it is
the main task of the managers to spread awareness regarding customer
satisfaction in the workplace.
SWOT Analysis
The SWOT analysis is used to thoroughly detect the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats to determine the situation of an organization. By this internal analysis the company can focus on its internal operations and functions and come up with new ideas to progress.
Strengths
The strengths of
the company Sports Direct include the wide network of stores all over the
world. It is a liable brand which has been operating over decades. The company
has tied up with the most famous brands as Adidas, Reebok and Nike which is one
of a solid strength. The staff in Sports Direct tends to stay put with the
organization because the get paid with high bonuses and gets additional
benefit.
Weaknesses
The slow growth
in market share is one of the most notable weakness of the company. The company
has always been working in low profit margins which can have a great effect on
the future profitability. The lack of customer dealing skills in workers within
the organization is also a potential weakness by which an organization can face
great loss in profitability and competitive advantage.
Opportunities
The company
tends to acquire brands across Europe which is a great opportunity in order to
reach more customers. The increasing economic problems in Europe provide an
opportunity to Sports Direct to lay its foundation in Western and Eastern
Europe. It is chiefly important for the brand to expand because the stores in
UK have been settled for over decades which gives it a broad opportunity to
reach out for more customers in different countries and attract the brand
conscious customers so that the company can be stable and sustained.
Threats
The functioning
of the company can be affected by the continuously fluctuating policies in
Europe. The evolution in technology is also causing problems for the company
and more advancement in it can be a potential threat for the company. If
advanced technology is used by the rivals of Sports Direct, it can be a great
threat to its progress.
Employee Roles and Responsibilities
The employees
roles and responsibilities matters the most for the functioning of an
organization. The moods and expectations of the customers depend upon the
attitudes of the employees. If the employees work responsibly with the role
they are allocated with then there would be lesser problems relating to
customers in the workplace. The employees in Sports Direct are famous for their
confused behavior, though the customers are attracted to the cheaper prices of
the desired brands but also get disappointed by the employee behavior towards
them. The company provides flexible working hours to the employees. The Sports
Direct has been striving to change the policies related to employment. It is
important to recognize the needs of the employees so that they can concentrate
more on their roles and responsibilities towards the company.
Training and Development programs in organizations
Training and
development programs provide opportunities to the organizations to train the
minds of employees according to their targets and missions (Noe, 2002). If the
employees are trained according to the intensity of desired goals of the
organization they can live up to the expectations of the organization and this
can result in better performance. Most of the employees that apply to work in
organizations aren’t much aware of what the organization is targeting at, the
fresh and young employees lack workplace skills which are important to be
delivered to them. By the help of training and development programs the company
can bring each and every employee to the same level of intellect.
The idea of
training and development in an organization shows the workers that they are
valuable which motivates them to participate actively in these programs
consequently creating workplace a better environment to work in (Noe, 2002).
Staff members should have exposure the information related to the safety,
administration etc. When a training program is properly structured it helps an
organization to operate comprehensively (Jehanzeb and Bashir, 2013). The
workers in an organization must be treated as valuable assets and the managers
must know how to deal with them and take the required work from them. Thus, the
training and development programs have a great value towards organizations
which the company must invest in.
Customer Service Assistant
The primary
point of interaction between the customers and the firm is through the customer
service assistant. The first person that the customer communicates and gets
interacted is the customer service assistant which gives out information about
the brands on sale by the company. The customers approach these assistants in
order to get advices, information relating the brands and products, to complain
or return any purchased item. This job is done in person, online or by
telephonic contact.
The customer
service assistants provide online help to the customers who demand it while
making purchases. The main role of this job is to handle the complaints by the
customers it is a great responsibility to thoroughly go through the complaints
and try to resolve it or transfer it to the responsible area. It is important
the customer service assistant listens to the issues calmly and don’t react in
a harsh way either on phone, online or in face as a bad behavior can be an
element of destruction for the company’s image and reputation. In Sports
Direct, the role and duty of the customer service assistant is quite hard, they
are ought to carry out a lot of work because the managers there are quite
skilled and knows how to make employees work (Wallop, 2015). Though the customer’s
assistants of this company have observed to be as confused as the customers but
they do have patience and politeness in their attitudes (Portas, 2013). In some
companies it is important to note down and make a report of the very own
activities performed all day, this helps in the supervising of both the person
on job and the progress of the company.
The skills that
are required to be a good customer service assistant includes being polite with
the customers, being capable of handling the sudden situations and ability
resolving issues rapidly so that the customers don’t have to wait. Further, the
person must be aware of the information technology and administrative skills in
order to carry out the tasks which are to be done using online services. Also,
the person has to be attentive and have good customer service skills.
Recommendation
Further are the
recommendations for the company to focus on in order to address the weaknesses
and threats. By focusing on the recommendations Sports Direct can easily gain
competitive advantage. Firstly, the company must focus on the training and development
programs and invest in this area in order to deliver the aims and targets of
the company to the employees so that each of them would have similar skills and
can deliver efficient work. Secondly, the company must focus upon expanding
more outside the Europe due to the increasing issues in its economy the company
is facing loss in market share. Furthermore, the company must consider
increasing the wages of the customer’s service assistants so that they would be
motivated to work hard and strive for the progression of the company. It is
also necessary for the company to arrange sitting areas in the shoe department
in most of the stores so that people would not complain about the absence of
place to sit and try shoes on.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the company must thrive to overcome its weaknesses and threats in order to rise as an exceptional brand. Sports Direct must establish itself and evaluate exceptional strategies address the issues in the workplace. If the company focuses on the training and develop program more it can acquire sustainability. The stability for the company lies within the strategies it implements for its success. Thus, the theories and policies of the company must be brought to practice so that this could result in excess profitability and be a way to achieve competitive advantage as well. Sports Direct can achieve its motives by focusing on the recommended ideas.
References
Barnes,
J.G., 2001. Secrets of customer
relationship management: It’s all about how you make them feel. McGraw-Hill
Companies.Gottlieb,
H. and Panepento, P., 2008. Doing More With Less in Hard Times. The Chronicle of PhilanthropyGottlieb,
H., 2003. Founders’ Syndrome? Who Me. Internet:
http://www. help4nonprofits. com/NP_Bd_FoundersSyndrome_Art. htm, 7, p.2009.Gottlieb,
H., 2006. Introduction to community engagement. Community-Driven Institute Library.Gottlieb,
H., 2007. 3 statements that can change the world: mission/vision/values. 3 Statements That Can Change the
World: Mission/Vision/Values.Jehanzeb,
K. and Bashir, N.A., 2013. Training and development program and its benefits to
employee and organization: A conceptual study. Training and Development, 5(2).Noe,
R.A., 2002. Employee training and development.Ojasalo,
J., 2001. Managing customer expectations in professional services. Managing Service Quality: An
International Journal, 11(3),
pp.200-212.Portas.
M. 2013. Mary Portas visits Sports Direct. [ONLINE] Available
at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/mary-portas/9987818/Mary-Portas-visits-Sports-Direct.html. [Accessed 29 March 2017].Ulrich,
D., 2013. Human resource
champions: The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Harvard
Business Press.Wallop.
H. 2015. The Secrets of Sports Direct review: along with cheap
trainers, Sports Direct is also known for its giant mugs – the customers.
[ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/apr/28/the-secrets-of-sports-direct-review. [Accessed 29 March 2017].Zeithaml,
V.A., Bitner, M.J. and Gremler, D.D., 2006. Services marketing: Integrating
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