MGT501 Business Environment Assignment Sample

• Subject Code : MGT501
• University : Laureate International Universities My Assignment Services is not sponsored or endorsed by this college or university.
• Subject Name : Business environment

Stakeholder Analysis

Executive Summary

This report focuses on Harver Norman and provides an in-depth analysis of the stakeholders. As a background, Harvey Norman is a leading Australian based company that has a multi-function in the furniture, bedding along with other products such as computers, communications along with other electronic goods. So, the company has more than 166 franchised operations within Australia. The company is considered to be a leading function, which is due to its large stakeholders that work closely internally and externally.

The company is also considered to be successful all over the brand and has a retail savvy attitude. The company has expanded due to its market trends along with the expanding business tools that would be essential for the organization to achieve a vital growth rate and circumstances. It is because of the stakeholders, the company has been able to reap its bets since its past years.

Contents

Introduction.

Background.

Stakeholder communication methods.

Functional areas. 

Internal and external stakeholders and their roles.

Nature and degree of main stakeholders’ interests, and implications.

Stakeholder Presence Source (Zakaria, 2018)

Implications of Conflicting interests.

Level of main stakeholders’ influence.

Stakeholder matrix.

Stakeholder Report, Source (Zakaria, 2018)

Competitor Analysis.

Conclusion.

References.

Introduction

 Harvey Norman is one of the reputed brands, which has created its mark as a multi retail brand. The purpose of the report is to focus on the company stakeholder analysis, further analyze the internal and external impacts. The company was founded by Ian Norman and Gerry Harvey in 1961 and since then, it has consistently focused on retail goods such as electrical appliances and various goods (Zakaria, 2017). The company operates in Australia and is a multinational retailer of wide furniture, bedding, computers, operates with communications along with the consumer electrical products (Wu, 2017). The market share of the company is a huge retail brand that operates at the global level, such as Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other countries (Sosnowska, 2019). The company is known to operate a large number of retail stores such as the 250 operating within Australia and a total of 360 worldwide.

Background

The company is known as the one major stop destination which has expanded its business in various operations such as the homeroom to the business solutions, through the introduction and technological innovation design (Seifert, 2016). The company is operating independently with the many franchising options across Australia, New Zealand, and the various other countries. The company also functions with the operated retail stores. The company is publically listed company ASX, operates with the headquarters in Sydney. Per year, the company can generate multi-billion dollar sales revenues. Globally, the company operates in Malaysia, New Zealand, Ireland, in the far fetch countries such as Slovenia, Croatia, etc. So far, the company is known as the highest operating company and has a total of 36retail stores in New Zealand during the2015 year (Sosnowska, 2019).

Stakeholder communication methods

Harvey Norman adopts an Omni-channel communication method and engages internal and external stakeholders through their innovative ideas, unique strategies, and even synchronizes the new researches, plans, and developments. The company operates through the multi-channel approach and includes the stakeholder’s experiences along with the integrated customer-care value (Jaiswal, 2019). The company with stakeholders always aims for a learning experience and also adopts a parallel working communication channel (Junça-Silva, 2017). The company through the collaborative innovative experiences brings in new supporting resources, designs, new techniques, and even focuses on the modern communication approaches to build rapport with the stakeholders.

The company actively engages through social media, communicates online and connects with the important stakeholders such as customers, investors, shareholders and the employees through the email, WhatsApp, Facebook, along with following them on Twitter (Joo 2017). For example, the company aims to innovate new processes and techniques, then it centers on customer needs. Such as of any specific client requirements like do it yourself (DIY) or how to innovate in accordance with the customer's requirements, such as ease at using the mobile application and the online website while operating and evaluating the issue. The company also adopts an independent communication strategy which can help them to connect with the customers, by being a swift response, constantly being in touch through online services like email and social media services and providing some rewards bonus such as click, collect and earn.

Functional Areas

The company has expanded in the home services such as furniture, bedding and further expanding into the consumer electrical products and office type furniture's like computers, communication devices, and office designed electronic goods. The company is known as the trendy brand, which has created a stir by being a retail savvy brand. Further, the brand also follows the innovative and technology-enabled market trends, expanded its business operations, and is known as an emerging brand (Jaiswal 2019).

Internal and External Stakeholders and Their Roles

The focus of the stakeholders is majorly aided by the framework of the key stakeholders having a set of social responsibility to abide by-:

• Customers– The customers are integral parts of the company and for the company are to expand through acquiring the maximum customers' market share base. The company has aims to open the channel of communication, by focusing on the value-based connect and to provide a valuable quality as well as by adopting environment-friendly sustainable practices. The role of the customers is to provide consistent feedback and also help the company follow the trend.

• Employees–The company has a large employee base that comes from global places (Gupta, 2018). The company focuses on the employee's key strength and provides better engagement plans such as face to face meetings, discussions through audio/video, and even in-person meetings. The role of the employees is to provide constructive feedback to the company about customer needs and preferences and make the management know about the present scenarios. The company even aims to achieve a versatile environment and create a nurturing environment for the employees (Garg, 2017). The company also aims to hire skilled employees from the global environment and with them adopt the most efficient improved, good communication plans that can have an efficient learning opportunity integrated within the company environments.

• Suppliers– The suppliers are from the backward and the forward integration chain, having an indefinite valuable support system for the company.

• Communities– Company’s major stakeholders are shareholders, investors, and society in which it operates, and even the wide communities that aim for the betterment of the company (Day, 2017).

Nature and Degree of Main Stakeholders’ Interests, and Implications

The company has adopted the strategy to integrate the entire stakeholders whether the internal and the external to be part of the company working, insights, process, and even ensure a collaborative approach for the innovative ideas (Cartwright, 2017). The company even keeps a close check on its competitors to understand the new value aid technologies and how to understand the changing trends in technology and innovation. The communication plans which has been adopted for stakeholders

Stakeholder Presence Source (Zakaria, 2018)

The company has to work collaboratively with the stakeholders to have better growth opportunities and the adopted new business functionalities that can help in better coordination and collaboration. The communication adopted by the stakeholders should be effective, synched, and well-aligned with the business objectives. As the customers are the center of the business models, the designing, needs, and preferences should be consistent with the customer demands. For example, if the customers desire the DIY furniture or the innovative electronic items, then the company should invest, customize, and even round immediately to the changing desires, demands, and trends. The employees engage with the customers as the agents and also provide quick sourcing of information, which can be used in the constructive feedback and the valuable feedback form (Bakker, 2017).

The main approach while dealing with the companies is to have open transparent communication and the method is the free flow from the top to bottom and vice versa. The company aims to integrate the healthy practices and even have a transparent framework, where the customers, employees, and the management can communicate with each other undergone platform, whether it is the mobile-based app model or to through the online website. Due to the open frame of the communication, the investors, shareholders, suppliers, customers along the PR/media people can contribute more effectively to the latest innovation, techniques, and expected process and work in coordination executives and the management.

Due to the dynamic business approach communication, the degree of communication adopted with the stakeholders remains open and also being an integral part of the company framework. To a certain degree of communication adopted is fairly due to the new policies, procedures, and also works in coordination with the stakeholders.

Implications of Conflicting interests

1. Response team – The Company has adopted an open platform and provides a better platform that can help to collaborate and also provide constructive suggestions, possible responses, and the engagement plans with the entire organization’s team. The company needs to coordinate effectively and with the better opportunities that would help in delivering the timely responsiveness and with an ease of coordination (Bennett, 2017).

2. Engaging discussion – The company should aim to have the engaging experiences and even broad discussion, that can aim to overcome the conflicting ideas, areas and also timely fill the communication gaps. The company aims to create engaging plans to align with the relevant stakeholders. It would help to improve the brand image and even known as the versatile brand, which can aim to create a better engaging environment with the employees and the customers. The stakeholders need to be understood in accordance with the magnitude of the issues and should be resolved on an urgent basis.

3. To have the possible solutions – Due to the stakeholder's versatile, it is important to have integrated possible solutions depending on the issues and finding alternatives. The company sources solutions which can help to resolve the conflict. It would help to open and create better transparent solutions.

4. Obligations– The Company should aim to increase its presence and also expand as per the stakeholder's desires and framework.

5. Avoiding & Compromising – The Company should aim to avoid any conflicts, engage in avoidance and also ensure to have the quality results that can avoid any possibility to avoid the compromises and any sort of the conflict (Bennett, 2017).

Level of Main Stakeholders’ Influence

The company aims to influence the stakeholders through their active presence and to further have the company insights.

• Customers –The company's main aim is to focus on the customers and the main target is to focus on the betterment of the future.

•  Employees – The Company aims to provide employees better-aimed practices and also focus on the high performing employees, which can provide a high resolution which would help to match the company's aims and goals.

•  Suppliers & Investors – The Company has aimed to provide a better resolution and also focus on providing better networking through the better suppliers' force and aims to provide the better cover to the investors (Bennett, 2017). The main aim is to provide an important force and for the people who can provide a better framework for the company workings.

•  Communities– Company should focus on society, which would be aimed to provide the community responsibilities, which can help in providing the resolutions along with better transparency.

The company has to focus on the key stakeholders' concerns which are the customers. The company has to think collaboratively over the versatility of the environment and to provide a transparent product consumer. The customer’s main aim is to provide a better solution to the problems, by opening as to what they want and desire. The customers can provide feedback to the various company communication channels to be heard and recognized. It is an advantage for the company to think and relate with the strategy of the communication to which can help to resolve the problem.

Often the problems can be distorted and even unclear, leading to conflicts that can cause misleading communication and even cause confusion, chaos, and misunderstanding. The stakeholders have to be better correlated to check the specified cases that can result in a lot of concern. It would ease to handle the complaints, grievances, suffusions of the customers that can further result in handling the issues, to develop a better response to the problems of the customers and even aims to handle the communication problems. It would further help to overcome the issues (Bennett, 2017).

Stakeholder interests can also aim to handle the communication methods that can be done through the newspaper, television, and through the Twitter chats, or Facebook chats. It would be further being handled in the corrected, manner, and provide a solution. The media platforms can handle the stakeholder at ease (Bennett, 2017). The company should focus on the customer’s issues and even focus on the platform of responses to coordinate to get better experiences and have a good responsive plan. This would further help to resolve the communication issue.

Stakeholder Matrix

Primary stakeholders

Which impact directly are the

Employees

They are workers and can be found in the various roles such as individual contributors, professionals, with respect to the managers and senior technical professionals along with the directors and company presidents(Bennett, 2017). The interests are limited to receiving remuneration, having the basic rights, free from discrimination, and have a good working environment. The powers of the employees are the great influence required for everyday running. The power lies in the fulfillment of the objective of the companies.

Shareholders

They are investors and holders of the company. The main interest is to invest, release the future profit, and earn the realizing returns as per the short and long term (Cartwright, 2017). Their interests are in profitability and have a high interest in the performance of the company. The power of the shareholders can imply influencing the power to decide the best for the company. 

Customers

These are the end-users and the add value users, due to which the company reaps profits. The interest of the customers lies in the maximize the utility which can be derived from the consumption of its products. creating values and fulfillment, The power lies in the customer's spending, due to which the company would reap profitability. Its directly proportional, higher spending more profits derived.

Suppliers

These are the direct raw materials and product suppliers. The main impact is how the resources are not supplied on time, which can cause delays in production delays and affect the customers who would not get the finished goods on time(Bennett, 2017).. The interests of the suppliers are to get long term profits, secure a contract when the market fluctuates and the power of the supplier is high as they are concentrated in the industries.

Secondary stakeholders

Which impact indirectly are the

The government

The role of the government cannot be overlooked, plays a vital role in the implication of the policies, understanding agency, and the main interest lies in the regulation of the business, not harming customers and checking any fraudulent business activities (Cartwright, 2017).

Media

Media plays a vital role and also influences market reputations. Through the positive or negative product review, in between the programs displaying the products can influence the customer purchase decisions (Bennett, 2017).

Competitors

The competitors help to check the quality, pricing, and even the branding role of the company. Harvey Norman has numerous competitors and to stand out its competitors, it has to sell distinctive, unique, and improved quality products.

Lobby groups

Certain groups can get an impact on the company making wrong decisions and even getting affected due to the performance of the companies(Cartwright, 2017).. For example, environmental groups can consistently protest against Harvey Norman against the rising pollution and environmental degradation.

The local community

They undertake corporate social responsibility and even create a positive impact on company branding and image. Local communities that are nearby to the business operations of the Harvey Norman company.

Source: Stakeholder Report (Zakaria, 2018)

Competitor Analysis

The company faces stiff competition, and it has to further develop high responsive mechanisms to handle them. The company close competitors are Woolworth Group Limited, Myer Holding Limited along with many famous companies like the Flemings, Safety, and even include the Action. There are a total of 326 businesses in the same structure and even include competing products such as the consumer goods for example video games, CDs, DVDs, and even include the Ultra HD Blu-rays (Bennett, 2017).

The company faces direct competition with JB Hi-Fi, which started its operating in 1974 and so far has expanded to the 303 locations globally. The company Blu Rays are also one of the close competitors such as hardware/electronics, DVDs and also includes the sound systems, iPods which have been a total of the $4 billion of the sales and so far expanded with the13 stores (Cartwright, 2016). In comparison, the company Harvey Norman has shown revenue of $348.61 million due to the franchise expansion plans(Bakker, 2016).

Conclusion

In the end, the company is considered to be a leading and renowned due to the large stakeholders that work closely internally and externally. The company is also considered to be successful with many brands and have a retail savvy attitude. The company has expanded due to its market trends along with the expanding business tools that would be essential for the organization to achieve a vital growth rate and circumstances. It is because of the stakeholders, the company has been able to reap its bets since its past years.

The company through the collaborative innovative experiences brings in new supporting resources, designs, new techniques, and even focuses on the modern communication approaches to build rapport with the stakeholders. The company also adopts an independent communication strategy which can help them to connect with the customers, by being a swift response, constantly being in touch through online services like email and social media services and providing some rewards bonus such as click, collect and earn.

References

Bakker, A. B., Oerlemans, W. G., & Ten Brummelhuis, L. L. (2016). Becoming fully engaged in the workplace: What individuals and organizations can do to foster work engagement. The Fulfilling Workplace (pp. 75-90). London. Routledge.

Bennett, J. B., Weaver, J., Senft, M., & Neeper, N. (2017).Creating workplace well-being. The Handbook of Stress and Health: A Guide to Research and Practice. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell, 570-604.

Cartwright, S. (2017). Workplace well-being: responsibilities, challenges, and future directions. A Research Agenda for Human Resource Management.Edward Elgar Publishing. Australia.

Day, A., & Nielsen, K. (2017). What Does Our Organization Do 16 to Help Our Well-Being? Creating Healthy Workplaces and Workers. An introduction to work and organizational psychology: An international perspective, 295.

Garg, N. (2017). Workplace spirituality and employee well-being: An empirical exploration. Journal of Human Values, 23(2), 129-147.

Gupta, M., & Shaheen, M. (2018, December). Does work engagement enhance general well-being and control at work? Mediating role of psychological capital. In Evidence-based HRM: a Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship. Emerald Publishing Limited.

Jaiswal, A., & Dyaram, L. (2019). Towards well-being: the role of diversity and nature of work. Employee Relations.Australia

Joo, B. K., & Lee, I. (2017, August). Workplace happiness: work engagement, career satisfaction, and subjective well-being. In Evidence-based HRM: A Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship. Emerald Publishing Limited. London

Junça-Silva, A., Caetano, A., & Lopes, R. R. (2017). Daily uplifts, well-being, and performance in organizational settings: The differential mediating roles of affect and work engagement. Journal of Happiness Studies, 18(2), 591-606.

Meacham, H., Cavanagh, J., Bartram, T., & Spaeth, K. (2019).Mental Health and Well-being at Work. Contemporary HRM Issues in the 21st Century, Emerald Publishing Limited, 103-116.

Park, J. G., Kim, J. S., Yoon, S. W., & Joo, B. K. (2017).The effects of empowering leadership on psychological well-being and job engagement. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.

Seifert, M., Brockner, J., Bianchi, E. C., & Moon, H. (2016). How workplace fairness affects employee commitment. MIT Sloan Management Review, 57(2), 15.

Sosnowska, J., & Griep, Y. (2019). Well-Being at Work: Applying Dynamics of effect in Positive Psychological Interventions. In Theoretical Approaches to Multi-Cultural Positive Psychological Interventions (pp. 325-344).Springer, Cham.

Wu, W., Rafiq, M., & Chin, T. (2017).Employee well-being and turnover intention. Career Development International. London

Zakaria, Z., Idris, M. D. K., & Ismail, M. B. (2017). Blue ocean leadership (BOL) practices towards promoting employee engagement in public service. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(3), 85-98.

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