The paper focuses on analyzing the international challenges and possible opportunities for managers operating in a global environment. The paper is based on Woolworths Gaborone branch, which is located at the Central Business District (CBD) of Botswana, Gaborone. Woolworths is a retail store which is well known and has its operations in Australia and other countries globally. Woolworths Gaborone branch has high customer service and product quality standards (Nair, 2015). The Woolworths Gaborone branch current scenario is that the company has been facing challenges in the management of staff performance thus resulting to a decline in the service quality which has led to a reduction of business (Frost and Hall, 2015). In addition, the paper also describes the problems of managers in managing the international competition and expansion and also describes the strategies undertaken by the managers in maintaining the effective running of operations for the attainment of quality Woolworths service standards. Furthermore, the paper provides conclusions and recommendations on how challenges and solutions could have been handled more effectively.
In the current era of global competition, Woolworths has set its quality of services and operational standards on a high notch. The company is clear about its responsibility and objective of offering quality services and goods to millions of consumers worldwide especially across New Zealand and Australia. The goal responsibility and objective has given Woolworths Gaborone branch a goal and responsibility of understanding their impact and managing their long-lasting benefits to the retail industry (Serebro, 2016). The company’s operations have standards that are set and usually affect the supply chain, customers and the organization’s shareholders. The operations of Woolworths are known for their quality services and goods across different regions. Since early this decade, the company has been at or near the top. Woolworths has improved the refurbishment of its stores with an aim of bringing new customers and retaining existing ones (Mwakikagile, 2009). Recently, a review of Woolworths Gaborone branch has highlighted challenges in its management which have been leading to the ineffective and inefficient performance of its operations. Employees have taken for granted their personal performance which has led to challenges facing the managers of the company.
Under the operational management perspective and working in virtual environments, the challenges identified by international managers include technical issues, language challenges and challenges in making decisions, the assertiveness and tone challenge. Lack of face-to-face communication at times makes hard to pass directives which may result in I poor performance of workers. Lack of proper communication also leads to challenges in implementing job design, human resources, design process, supply chain, demand forecasting and capacity issues (Kreitz, 2008). The challenges have resulted in a decline in business, service quality and employees’ personal performance.
Issues in Botswana’s strategic intentions for going global and managing the service process design
Woolworth’s managers have been facing challenges in ensuring that the company steadily continues to retail their product combination of quality services and goods in Botswana due to a conflict with the country’s long-term planning. However, the managers of Woolworths understand that the service process design requires the participation of customers since without customers it’s impossible for the services to take place. Research by Ton and Huckman (2008) shows that international managers face challenges in establishing the standards from manufacturers to the retail outlet and the service quality provided by the employees. The challenges have been associated with employee diversity and different cultural ethnicities which have affected the relations among employees resulting in poor customer assistance and poor display of goods on the shelves. Woolworths Gaborone branch depends on the participation of customers, which has led to challenges for managers in establishing an effective service process design (Crush, Nickanor, Kazembe, & Wagner, 2018). The aspect has led to declining customer satisfaction and poor service quality.
According to Leenheer & Bijmolt (2008) forecasting is a central focus function in retail organizations as it gives managers the ability to foresee their organization’s future needs and assists in the effective performance of related functions. However, challenges in time zones, seasonal demands, and travel and transport logistics activities linked to the forecasting function include staffing, inventory management and next supply (Chen & Ou, 2011). Managers at Woolworths face the challenge of an unstable international business environment which has made forecasting difficult. For example, the grocery manager at Woolworths Gaborone branch faces challenges in forecasting due to the unpredictable performance of the grocery products. In the international market expansion, Woolworths Gaborone branch struggles at satisfying the unique customer demands in their store.
In addition, the store manager has been facing challenges in the provision of commendable performance due to the old cultural procedures and lack of interest of customers in purchasing from an international corporation. There are inadequate resources for the manager and poor evidence that has led to the manager depending completely on quantitative approaches in managing the organization’s international expansion to Gaborone. The quantitative approach challenges facing the manager include the lack of casual variables or the past historical data vital for forecasting goods demand that requires the qualitative approach.
Capacity management is important in scheduling workforce and in demand management. Research by Chen et al. (2010) shows that the management of demand is an attempt for influencing the customers’ requirement for services and goods. On the other hand, capacity management ensures that the organization is capable of meeting the demand of customers for goods and services. The host country’s contradictions have led to the understanding of customer demand to be insufficient resulting to challenges for managers in managing the fluctuation of demand in the international market since it involves the capacity of the organization in fulfilling the demand. In addition, managers at Woolworths Gaborone branch face challenges due to the inadequate capacity of minimizing the customers’ waiting time at the purchasing counter.
In Botswana, competition in the retail sector has been on the rise with a decline in growth opportunities for Woolworths Gaborone branch (Egu & Aregbeshola, 2017). Woolworths Gaborone branch faces intense competition from local retail giants in Botswana like Checkers, Game/Massmart, Spar and Pick n Pay. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has increased which has been caused by high food demand in Botswana and competition by retailers attributed to the relaxation of regional integration, political stability, exchange controls, changes in consumer tastes and preferences and growth of disposable income. Citizens in the country are also resistant to multinational enterprises and prefer to purchase from local retailers which have led to the retailers mounting great pressure and competition on Woolworths which has given Woolworth’s managers a hard time in acquiring new customers and maintaining the current ones. To survive, managers at Woolworths have implemented competition strategies including loyalty cards to reward loyal customers thus maintaining a consistent customer base and improving their competitive edge in the retail industry.
Supply chain management is the process of overseeing the flow of finances, information and materials from manufacturers to consumers (Christopher, 2016). Supply chain management integrates activities that procure services and materials and transforming them into final products and intermediate goods for delivery to the final consumer. Woolworths Gaborone store managers face challenges in the management of the supply chain including the travel and transport logistics and lack of space for storing certain products and delivery of goods in bulk. In addition, the tracking system is inappropriate. Furthermore, the bullwhip effect affects the employees. The managers have faced challenges in managing the employees resulting in ineffective management control systems. Poor handling of the stock has also led to products being out of demand and product expiry.
Managers at Woolworths Gaborone branch have faced issues in managing the multicultural human resource leading to difficulties in designing jobs and managing labor in order to efficiently and effectively utilize the skills of employees. For example, managers have failed to offer equitable pay which meets the employees’ physiological and physical requirements which have led to a decline in staff performance leading to a loss for the organization.
According to Grandey and Diamond (2010) job design refers to the combination of tasks for the formation of complete jobs. The use of principles of job design for international expansion is important as it ensures that job descriptions are clear and that employees are successful and motivated for the completion of tasks. Woolworths Gaborone managers have faced challenges with their employees due to persistent absenteeism resulting in business reduction leading to reduced customer service levels. In addition, the managers face challenges in the design of service processes to match with customer requirements. Customer contact matrix and service matrix tools should be used to address the issues.
Woolworth’s managers have an opportunity of using various tools like the break-even analysis for the evaluation of capacity. With the help of the break-even analysis tool, international managers can analyze the store status as it provides a clear overview of the number of goods produced and sold (Scarborough, 2016). In addition, international managers have an opportunity of using the six sigma tool to attain an effective system for the company. The sig sigma will assist Woolworths Gaborone branch managers in the identification of improvement gaps and assist in the collection of data for the closure of the gaps. Woolworths managers in Botswana can commit themselves in the implementation of the tools for an opportunity to improve service quality leading to customer satisfaction thus resulting in a higher revenue for the company.
Woolworths Gaborone branch managers have the opportunity of using the advance planning and scheduling system to attain an efficient system for operation in the branch. The managers will have an opportunity for integrating algorithms and other linear programming techniques to improve the competitive edge of the company by implementing planned schedules. The system will assist managers to manage future demand including the type and quantity of goods to order from suppliers.
Conclusion
Issues raised in the paper have revealed the international challenges faced by managers and possible opportunities for improvement. Cultural differences in managing a multicultural workforce have been discussed as a major contributor to poor service delivery to customers and poor employee standards of performance. In addition, challenges in competition and resistance to foreigners and multinational enterprises, forecasting challenges due to time zones and seasonal demands, travel and transport logistics and supply chain management, service process and service selection and design have also been discussed. Addressing the discussed challenges affecting the employee standards and service quality will improve customer satisfaction thus resulting in an improvement in the company’s business in Botswana.
Woolworths Gaborone managers should ensure that an efficient design of service to the customers is present. The managers should change their strategies according to the change in the tastes, preferences and requirements of the Botswana customers to ensure maximum customer satisfaction for the improvement of sales in the country. To gain a competitive edge, the managers should implement strategies aimed at gaining customer loyalty like loyalty cards and discounts for bulk purchases to maintain their customer base and gain a competitive advantage. Improving employee performance requires managers to motivate employees through the provision of incentives like cash rewards for the best performing employees. In managing the multicultural workforce, the managers should ensure that they train employees on how to communicate and work in a multicultural environment so as to improve their understanding and appreciation of different cultures.
The managers should also implement quality control strategies like the six sigma tool in order to minimize errors in the workforce and minimize the performance gaps. In addition, the managers should improve their supply chain process and minimize challenges in travel and transport logistics by hiring skilled employees who will be responsible for overseeing the overall supply chain which will directly solve the challenges in demand and capacity. Motivating employees with a good pay, cash rewards and offering a conducive working environment will ensure that employees give out their best in their roles. In addition, the managers should ensure that they match employees with the job description to ensure that employees are working in their right capacity which will result in a higher productivity. Moreover, implementing proper forecasting techniques will solve the time zones and seasonal demands challenges and enable managers to understand the international market and formulate strategies for curbing forecasting challenges before they occur.
References
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Chen, H., Chen, Y. F., Chiu, C. H., Choi, T. M., & Sethi, S. (2010). Coordination mechanism for the supply chain with leadtime consideration and price-dependent demand. European Journal of Operational Research, 203(1), 70-80.
Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & supply chain management. Pearson UK.
Crush, J., Nickanor, N., Kazembe, L. N., & Wagner, J. (2018). Revisiting Africa’s supermarket revolution.
Egu, E. M., & Aregbeshola, R. A. (2017). The odyssey of South African multinational corporations (MNCs) and their impact on the Southern African development community (SADC). African Journal of Business Management, 11(23), 686-703.
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Leenheer, J., & Bijmolt, T. H. (2008). Which retailers adopt a loyalty program? An empirical study. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 15(6), 429-442.
Mwakikagile, G. (2009). Botswana since independence. New Africa Press.
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