TURNING BUSINESS AIMS INTO PRACTICE
Business organisations will have particular aims like making a profit, or simply trying to stay in business when times are hard. These aims may change over the lifetime of the business. For example, a new business may aim simply to survive for its first year. An established business might aim to expand its market share from 30% of the total market to 50% and then, after it has done this, seek to increase profits by 5% each year over the last year.
Once a business has decided upon its aims t will need to choose some practical objectives and methods to achieve them. For example, in order to achieve the aim of expanding market share a business may choose the objective of beating its closest rival in terms of sales over the next twelve months. Therefore, the objectives of a business are the practical ways in which it will go about achieving its aims.
QUALITATIVE OBJECTIVES
Providing services to the community
Many non- profit-making organisations exist only to provide a public service and their sole purpose for raising money is to help them carry out their activities. They are not interested in profit making but in providing a service to the community. Examples are The National Trust, local authorities and charities such as Oxfam.
Developing a more skilled workforce
Most businesses would agree with the statement that ‘our greatest asset is our people’. For Pizza Hut this means achieving its objectives through motivating and development of its staff.
I will now focus more on the objectives carried out by the organisation I am studying.
Pizza Hut serves more than 1.3 million pizzas everyday to approximately 4 million customers world- wide. Pizza Hut sets out plans, which are like objectives in the fact that they want to achieve certain goals.
- We want more and more people to enjoy Pizza Hut restaurants
- We want to open more restaurants
- We want to exploit every delivery opportunity
- We want to be the UK’s favourite restaurant to work in
These plans or objectives are extremely powerful in the fact that they have literally explained many things, which they wish to achieve in only a few lines.
If you have a look at these objectives, each line starts with “we want to”. This basically means that they are trying to achieve what they are saying.
In my opinion I think that these objectives have been achieved as Pizza Hut is increasingly succeeding in all the different areas it operates. More people come to the restaurants, more restaurants are opening, and without a doubt people are always recommending people to go to Pizza Hut for the number one service.
Pizza hut also state that they have aims, which are related to objectives.
The way in which Pizza Hut will achieve its business aims by living its values are:
- Customer focus
- Belief in people
- Recognition
- Coaching and support
- Accountability
- Excellence
- Positive energy
- Teamwork
- Integrity and openness
- Fun and enthusiasm
Without a doubt any business can achieve its aims or objectives by focusing on these important factors.
MARKETING OBJECTIVES
Pizza hut states marketing objectives, which is a statement of what is to be accomplished through marketing activities. These objectives are:
- To maintain the number one market position
- To increase the percentage of pizza sales by increasing the number of franchise delivery units with carryout facilities
These objectives in my opinion could be achieved through different ways.
One way could be creating internal campaigns or contests with attractive prizes to achieve the established objectives.
Another way could be signing agreements with leading corporations or chains, which are operating in the same markets such as the agreement, signed in February 11th 1997 by Pizza Hut and Hilton Hotels.
In my opinion, Pizza Hut can improve its sales percentage and its profits by opening more delivery units with carryout facilities in strategic places carefully chosen.
In comparison with the traditional restaurants, the delivery- units required an estimated U.S Dollar 128,500 to 198,500. By contrast with the company- owned delivery units, the franchisee investing in delivery- units typically did not buy vehicles and did not always adopt the company’s computer- ordering system. The cost of sales would be lower in the Delivery units due a combination of upsizing and higher prices for order.
Another set of objectives Pizza Hut have stated are:
By 2005 we aim to have 2 million smiles a week
- Smiling Investors
- Smiling Employees
- Smiling Customers
Although from looking at these objectives, you may think that there not actually important. Usually objectives are much more detailed, however I feel that these are just as powerful as any other type of objective.
From looking at these objectives, you can see that they wish to have smiling investors, employees and customers. These are the three main types of people who make the business what it is. Without the customers the business will fail, as nobody will be purchasing the pizzas. Without the investors the company won’t be investing and without the employees, there is no product being produced. So to have these three types of people smiling, the business will function properly and the business will remain to stay the world’s leading pizza service, which is actually another objective.
Pizza hut state that the deadline for these objectives is the year 2005.
My judgements on how successfully Pizza Hut is meeting these objectives is that they are doing extremely well. From my point of view the customers are very happy with the service. Strategies, which could be used to improve this objective, could include Pizza Hut providing a more wide range of pizza’s and deserts and drinks to the customers at reasonable prices. If they can maintain this more and more customers will be happy with the company.
I also think that if Pizza Hut provides their employees with a pay- rise and more bonuses for their hard work and commitment, then this will improve their confidence and make them feel better about themselves boosting their morale.
As you already are aware Pizza Hut is owned by Whitbread.
Whitbread believes that business has a responsibility to achieve good environmental practice and to continue to strive for improvement in its environmental impact. The efficient and effective use of resources makes sound commercial sense. In view of this, Whitbread requires Pizza Hut:
- to set clear management responsibility at a senior level for environmental affairs.
- to develop its own environmental policy and objectives, taking due account of the risks and opportunities which its business presents.
- to develop management systems, including appropriate targets, to achieve its objectives.
- to monitor and report annually on performance against objectives and targets.
- to communicate its policy and practice to key stakeholders
The reason I decided to include this information in the description and explanation and judgements of the businesses objectives, is because I feel that these points are objectives as they are related to the way in which Whitbread want Pizza Hut to operate. If Pizza Hut can meet these points then they are successful meaning that these points must be objectives. Objectives are laid out so a business can look back at them and follow them. Just like in this case Pizza Hut are to follow these points.
To finish off this section on Pizza Hut’s objectives, I think that Pizza Hut is operating at a high standard meaning that all of the different types of objectives are being met. I think if they start to expand their service more around the world and produce tastier products, then all objectives will be fulfilled.
If Pizza Hut think of more logical ideas such as creating an ordering system on their main website, then they will make more profit allowing them to expand on equipment and proving the employees with higher wages. I will mention this in more detail in the ICT section.
I hope that all of this information I produced is relevant to this section of the assignment.
