Topic > Analysis of Strategic Operations and Issues of Woolworths Company

Index IntroductionMajor Issues of WoolworthsChange ManagementSWOT of Woolworths LimitedWeaknessesOpportunitiesThreatsConclusionIntroductionThe current research addresses issues in strategic operations faced by Woolworths, a major Australian supermarket chain. Colloquially the company is known as Woollies and currently owns an Australian supermarket chain that operates stores in Australia. The company was founded in 1924 as Woolworths Bazaar Limited and had its first store on Pitt Street in Sydney. Consumer interest grew after December 1924 when the store began selling a variety of products and claiming the price was the cheapest on the market. Woolworth supermarket, a popular retail chain in Australia, holds at least 78% of the market and faces a strong level of competition from Coles, which is another grocery and supermarket outlet in Australia. The growth of the organization's structure, strategies and operating methods is necessary for the sustainability of the business. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayThe term “change” defines any alteration that occurs in the entire working environment of the association to grow. In this assignment, organizational change concepts will be linked to the organizational principles followed by the Woolworths Group. In this assignment a list will be provided to highlight the relevant change previously achieved in the chosen organisation. In the third part, the organizational change plans will be focused after evaluating the SWOT analysis. By rationally evaluating the role of the change agent in the organization, this will develop the climate for planned change by overcoming resistance and supporting forces for positive growth. Major Problems of Woolworths Losing Loyal Customers: Woolworths encounters the problem of losing its current loyal customers to its competitor companies, which directly affects the annual turnover and final profitability. The Woolworths reward strategy adopted by the management consists of very significant loyalty programs for existing customers. After incorporating these strategies, Woolworths supermarket has at least 18 million customers every week and this number is steadily increasing day by day. Technological change issues: Woolworths management, having faced a major strategic problem in the competitive Australian retail market, recently introduced the online shopping site. Therefore, the management analyzes current trends and starts offering products online. Woolworths CEO Ian Moir always focuses on profitability and cost reduction with appropriate winning strategies. Woolworths' credit card strategy involves automatic tracking of supermarket purchases. This shopping card also returns cashback points to the card, so the consumer can enjoy discounts on their next purchase. Competition Issue: Woolworths faces a huge level of competition from its existing rival companies such as Coles and Aldi. There are also possibilities of new entrants, who may come with innovative strategies to disrupt Australia's leadership position. Therefore, Woolworths should modify its current strategies in order to prevent the possibility of new strategic issues that will hinder its business and brand. Managing changeChange is the critical aspect to improve the effectiveness ofmanagement. Organizations engage in response to dynamic internal and external factors that transform with the current needs of the organization. Evidence suggests that strict orders, narrow job descriptions, inflexible rules and procedures, impersonal management and a high degree of operational specialization cannot adequately respond to the demand for change. On these fronts, organizational change is necessary for various internal and external causes. In the overall perception, the change in the organization can alter or reorganize them according to the future demand by predicting the external events. The concept explains the involvement in changing the organization from the current state to the desired state for the future and in managing the transition process. In other words, the idea of ​​organization has been inclusive in management theory such as “System Theory” and “Complexity Theory”. In the management literature, expressions such as “planned change”, “change management”, “organizational change” and “change agents” and more currently “change masters” have been abstracted into many organizations. All these concepts are classified and made available in different forms of collection of theories, practices and policies. The fundamental concepts of organizational change concern all the management efforts of the management people along with maintaining the harmonization of the basic needs of the workers or staff of the company. Here the main fundamental statement of management changes is that organizations and their managers can have more influence and control over such changes that are occurring at the core. In this context, organizations can interact with the environment constantly. In the concept of change agents, the organizational climate is compromised by the set of relationships between agents or stakeholders and by many other factors that may be outside the control of the organization. Being the agent of the organization, managers' personal attributes were necessary to motivate and inspire others to follow their directions. The term change agent can mean external change agents and internal change agents. Those who provide external consultants who are temporarily associated with the organization to stay engaged only during the change process are the external change agent of the organization. On the other hand, people who work for the organization and have experience in improving the same organization are the role of internal change agents in the fields of the organization. For both individuals, organizational change efforts must be approached as a process of individual subgroup identification after being subjected to district decision making and willingness to change. Being recognized as one of Australia's renowned and trusted retail brands, Woolworths Limited continuously strives to deliver a world-class experience to customers across all stores available in different parts of Australia. With constant evaluation and innovation, the organization is a perfect example of incredible growth in terms of providing not only food and liquor chain retail services, but also financial services. The organization merges the changes in the business environment and has made substantial changes to meet the extended demands of the customers and greater value of their choices. Woolworths management believes that retail must not stand still and it is important to recognize that customer decisions and purchasing behavior must change dynamically. Woolworths is responding to the newera of development laying the foundation to ensure growth and opportunity. Putting customer needs at the heart of their business, Woolworths management rapidly changed their product selling concepts by embracing mobile technology and increasing accessibility to products and pricing procedures. For example, retail products are initially only sold out in stores across Australia. Embracing the positive changes in the retail world, the company started its operations online to reach maximum customers. Ultimately, the company recognized the need to keep up and understand customer demand and ensure the seamless and effortless retail growth operation between “physical and virtual” stores to shop in a which relates the most. To extend its operations, Woolworths has made changes to its employee engagement policies. For having served approximately 18 million customers, the company's human resources department has been following the steps towards hiring more people and has worked hard to earn customers and reward their loyalty. . In this way, the organization continuously makes sustainable changes for the growth of the organization. Change in the organization is about ensuring the sustainability of business operations. Such changes not only affect the operational level but also help encourage the contribution of each employee in the organization. By accepting the truth that the retail business cannot stand still because product demands and preferences are shifting and dynamic, Woolworths has managed the environmental changes perfectly. The organization has already made changes not only in accepting mobile technology for shopping across the country but also in the field of human resources and in the perspective of each employee in the organization. SWOT of Woolworths Limited Strengths Being positioned as a market leader in the retail industry in Australia, the company has perfectly presented its dynamic leadership capability in the business development process. Furthermore, the company recognized their ability to exploit the potential of the retail market; the company managed its resources effectively and efficiently. Here the company has made its efforts to minimize carbon footprint and embrace zero food waste policies in the workplace. Weaknesses The enormous pressure from rival companies such as Aldi, Coles and many others, the Australian retail market offers new tasks to maintain their stable customer base over the years. Companies like Woolworths, for example, have adopted many price change policies to raise the price of their products because the Australian government has limited Woolworths' move to maintain higher prices for their products while partnering with Coles. This is one of Woolworths' major weaknesses. Opportunities The Australian retail business has immense growth potential for the future. Factors such as advanced supply chain management, advanced and dynamic lifestyles of customers and changing store culture have largely supported the retailer's capabilities and offer good growth opportunities. Threats High rivalry in the retail industry is the main threat of Woolworths. Furthermore, changes in government policies, taxes and interest rates are important factors that may influence Woolworths' growth in the coming period within Australian retail. Based on this SWOT analysis it can be clearly identified that Woolworths.