The 1960s saw Asda become a PLC because they could sell shares publicly on the stock exchange to raise additional Capital.
In 1999 Asda was bought by Wal-mart. This helped the company to become global.
How Asda’s ownership could change
Asda’s type of ownership is unlikely to change, however a change in ownership is still possible. This change could occur in several ways, the first way being that asda could become a Private Limited Company (Ltd), so that they can concentrate more on the business and improve their business activities and relieve themselves of the stock exchange and their stock holders.
Asda can also choose to become a partnership if their competition e.g. Tesco is too strong.
They can merge with another supermarket the benefits of this could be:
- More customers; means more capital and market share being earned thus leading to more power and relation with their customers and suppliers.
- This allows the company to diversify into offering a wider range of products into other markets.
PLC’s always run the risk of changes in ownership, due to the fact that anyone can buy the shares freely and they own a percent of the company.
Asda like any PLC is open to any hostile takeover bids; this is where a wealthy business person comes in to buy all the shares.
If the pressure and the negative publicity of being a PLC take its toll the current owners and directors can turn it back into an Ltd and this will hopefully regain back the market share and customers.
Why Asda may change their aims and objectives
There are many reasons why Asda may change their aims and objectives this is because it is very large and even a little problem can change their way of running the business.
To keep up with their competitors such as Tesco and Morrisons objectives may be altered if they are not contributing to Asda’s overall aims.
The objectives can also be changed due to the ever changing market.
If Asda want to expand their business they would need more targets to achieve in relation to the different sectors of the business.
Asda must respond to changes in economic conditions for e.g. increase in employment and increase in exchange rates.
If a new activity is introduced for e.g. holidays then they need to plan a specific target for the introduction and monitoring of the activity.
If Asda don’t change their objectives then they will start to lose capital, customers and market share.
Aims may need to change in order to satisfy the changing needs of the customers e.g. reduction in cost.
Asda’s main aim is very unlikely to transform unless the vision and the focus of the whole business changes. This could happen if the owner is changed or the company is struggling in the market.
How Swift Supplies ownership could change
Swift Supplies has been a sole trader since it started off in the year 2000 and it has been expanding since so the chance of it changing into another ownership is very likely.
There are a lot of factors that may affect Swift Supplies status of ownership.
If Swift Supplies do decide to change they may change into a LTD to get limited liability and get a basic idea of shares being sold and bought privately so that they have the experience if they want to change into a PLC.
They may change into a partnership if the competition is too strong or it’s too hard to manage a business on by one person.
Swift Supplies is run by one person but he has four staff under his employment, three of them are his relatives and if Swift Supplies do form a partnership they might be a partnership of four. This is positive in a lot of ways because they might agree on most things and if they are struggling in money problems they may share money together to save money and survive.
They could also form a partnership with their competitors to increase market share and earn and share large amounts of profit.
Why Swift Supplies may change their aims and objectives
As Swift Supplies is a small business its aims and objectives don’t change a lot because as it doesn’t have different departments like Asda but they need to be changed if they are not met properly.
If they’re competitors are earning more then the objectives should be changed or if they have more customers than Swift Supplies.
If Swift Supplies are not meeting customer demand then their objectives may change or if their service towards their customers is not excellent.
If they’re product quality falls below standard or if the products are not demanding than the aims and objectives need to be changed.
If they’re staff are using dishonest methods and are stealing from the company then not only the aims and objectives have to be changed but also the staff.
The most important of all is if their profits are decreasing and they are in financial distress than the company has to review all its objectives and win back customer loyalty and trust to earn them profit so they can survive and if they want to carry on running the business.
Functional Areas within Asda
Asda is a vast organisation that has functional areas that execute certain functions frequently in relation to their specific purpose.
These functional departments are essential to the business as they set out to complete specific day to day tasks with ease.
A group of employees are stationed in the various different functional departments in relation to their roles and expertise that are applied in each department.
These functional areas are the backbone of large companies as they set out to operate different functions in order to maintain the business operating more efficiently.
Asda is architected by a structure of functional areas as they combine together to produce a successful company.
Human Resources
All businesses whether large or small employ people to carry out essential work assigned to them by their superior’s or the company owners.
So the Human Resources departments’ lone function is to employ staff and then look after their needs once they are in the company employment.
Recruitment
Asda like many other successful companies like to employ the most proficient employees in order to benefit from their abilities.
Asda’s recruiting employees locate a vacancy that needs to be occupied and than they identify the vacancy and decide to put up job descriptions that species which person is required, what skills they need to have and what responsibility they will be taking on.
When this is decided they progress on to advertise that vacancy at an appropriate location, where they predict skilled candidates may discover these vacancies.
When people respond to these job descriptions their CVs are examined by the human resources department and than human resources progresses on to call the selected candidates for interviews.
They than select their chosen candidate and than in an appropriate manner notify the unsuccessful candidates.
Retention
When Asda has excellent employees they prefer them at their service for as long as possible or they would have to employ and retrain new staff which would be costly.
Human resources are responsible for analysing staff turnover-this is the rate at which staff departs the organisation. There might be a lot of factors that affect staff leaving Asda; human resources have to investigate their reasons for leaving.
Asda attempts to have fair and competitive terms and conditions of employment which not only suit the employee but also Asda. These conditions ensure that employees are paid at a reasonable rate in relation to their job, given holiday privileges and sick pay.
Asda ensures that these conditions are fair on employees and are similar to Asda’s competitors to avoid conflict.
Disciplinary Action
When employees start becoming a liability at the workplace, human resources try to take immediate disciplinary action to stop and prevent it from happening again.
The first action is to give a verbal warning to the employee but if the problem persists a written warning is also given which shows written proof that states if he/she continues their actions than it will lead them to their own dismissal.
If this warning is ignored than the employee is given a straightforward dismissal by human resources.
Training
When employees have started work they still wish to continue on discovering new abilities that might assist them or improve them as employees. This gives them confidence to apply for promotions or better jobs which have more responsibility and better pay.
Training relates to different opportunities and of acquiring new skills and also extending previous skills or even enhancing knowledge.
Training might be given either at Asda headquarters or elsewhere like a college or a specialist training centre.
Asda’s human resources department is in charge of keeping staff training records, supervising the procedures for applying for training and monitoring the training budget.
External training events at Asda are analysed by receiving feedback from employees so the most popular and appropriate training sessions are noted and repeated and while unsuccessful events are reviewed for further improvement.
Development
Development at Asda relates to personal development of the individual employee. Asda expects from their staff to take an individual active role during their training for their own self-development.
Asda will pay for their staff development activities to ensure their staff work effectively as a team, manage time to work more efficiently and also gain better professional presentation skills.
Most employees at Asda also hope to improve themselves and their career so at Asda there are a lot of different grades of jobs to progress on to so promotion opportunities enable staff to progress within the company.
Human Resources monitor their progress and also discuss their future promotions.
A typical staff member seeking promotion would have to prove he can:
- do the existing job well
- is committed, hardworking and willing to help others if necessary
- works well together with fellow employees
- has developed new skills and abilities since joining Asda
- is capable of taking a role which requires extra responsibility
- does additional tasks for the benefit of Asda
This may require a lot of hard work to achieve yet human resources motivates and advises employees to achieve their promotions, they also advertise promotional vacancies internally and externally so existing employees would have to compete with external candidates for the promotion. This strategy is successful as it ensures that internal employees have also got a chance to fill the vacancy.
Trade unions
Trade Unions are an association of existing employees working in a company and also representing their fellow workers in that company.
The Unions are made up of voluntarily employees who pay subscription fees to become members and they are in alliance with the Trades Union Congress and they represent their workers on pay and conditions.
Asda and the Trade Unions negotiate peacefully in a range of activities including:
- Negotiating fair pay rates and pay rises for employees with management and recommend improvements at work.
- All aspects of health and safety issues at the work place to ensure a safer place to work.
- Staff redundancy to ensure a fair policy on employees’.
- Giving useful advice and support to their individual employees to solve disputes at work and accompany them to any disciplinary interviews.
- Give advice on work based training and its outcomes on the individual employees.
- They provide advice on employees’ legal rights: benefits if an employee is involved in an unpleasant industrial accident and employees covered by essential financial services including insurance.
It is the role of the senior members of staff at the human resources department to negotiate peacefully with trade unions on behalf of the management and Asda.
I.C.T
Computers are now an essential part of the work desk as they are used to communicate via electronic mail to other employees and departments e.g. negotiating issues with trade unions.
They provide a database on individual employee records so they are promptly searched.
They are also used to type job descriptions for vacancies, run software that assists human resources in various different ways, record attendance of employees and also write disciplinary issues.
They are also used for video conferencing to communicate with other departments e.g. finance to discuss about individual staff payment increase.
Printers are used to show hard copies of files to other members of staff or to print off letters to send to their fellow employees.
Telephones in the Human Resources department aid oral communication to other employees and other departments for enquiries.
Smart boards and projectors are now used increasingly to demonstrate presentations at meeting or for training purposes.
Fax is used to send important documents if asked by other departments or the trade unions e.g. to show evidence of a written warning if there is a dispute regarding redundancy of a member of staff.
Speaking externally to employees via mobile phones to discuss issues e.g. absences or confirming holiday leave.
Finance
The Finance department is considered to be the most important functional area by businesses large or small.
It keeps track of all transactions - the capital being earned and also spent by the business and calculates the exact amount of profit earned and the amount of loss being made for each item or service sold.
The financial sector is also involved with all the other departments such as Production: so it keeps record of the expenditure of manufacturing goods and also calculates the profit margin when those goods are sold.
Financial information is crucial to a business when rapid decisions are made which can result to financial accomplishment or financial collapse.
As Asda is a Public Limited Company it has to present its account of profits and losses to the public if requested.
Financial Accounting
In order to have a record of all transactions the finance department has to prepare Asda’s accounts. It is a legal requirement for Asda as these accounts are presented to the Inland Revenue for calculation of Tax.
Expenditure’s must be precisely recorded as these will decrease the amount of tax that is due.
As Asda is registered for value added tax it can reduce that tax by submitting expenditure documents which allows them to have tax returns. These should be submitted regularly and on time otherwise the company is fined for being late.
Asda as a company deals with millions of transactions everyday and these transactions have to be recorded precisely in order.
These financial documents are following:
Receipts
- Cash, debit or credit card payments or cheques from customers who have purchased goods and paid for them instantly.
- Standing order or payments via direct debit from individuals who have bought goods/services on credit – that is, purchase goods/services and pay in instalments over several months. In direct debit cases money is automatically transferred from the purchaser’s individual bank account to Asda’s each month until the full instalments are paid for.
- Cheques are mostly paid for by businesses that have purchased goods on credit and the finance staff are in charge of checking the creditworthiness of new customers by acquiring credit references from agencies or the customer’s bank. This is crucial when deciding how much credit should a customer be allowed or the limit of credit they are authorized to obtain.
Payments
- Payments for goods and raw materials will usually be bought on credit by Asda and the supplier will issue an invoice and a statement at the end of each month. This document will state the outstanding amount that needs to be paid to the supplier. These payments will usually be by cheque, but some may be transacted electronically.
The functions of the finance staff are following:
- checking and recording all the amounts transacted and entering these amounts in the financial database and accounts
- checking all monies are securely banked instantly as they are received
- sending statements to customers who have bought via credit to show their remaining credit which needs to be paid
- reminding their customers about their overdue accounts which need immediate payment
- checking invoices upon arrival of goods to make sure the deliveries match the agreed price
- issuing cheques to suppliers
- recording all their payments in the correct accounts
- checking all banking documents such as bank statements and transferring surplus funds so they can earn any amount of interest where possible
Today many of these operations are functioned by computers due to their reliability and time efficient processes. Due to increased activity of transactions within Asda these tasks are not assigned to employees.
The accounts are automatically adjusted by entering incoming and outgoing amounts.
The banking records are similarly updated when money is banked.
The accounts information must be brought together annually into the correct format required for the official or statutory accounts which by law must be produced.
Asda must provide a profit and loss account and a balance sheet along with a cash flow statement if Asda think it is necessary.
As Asda is recognised as a public limited company it has to publish its accounts to the public and in order to do so its financial accountant is assigned to supervise the accounts and finalise them to be published to the public. The main points are highlighted in the documents.
Costs and Budgets
In order to be effective finance wise a budget system is put in place to ensure an organised financial strategy.
Each department is allocated a budget that specifically identifies planned income and spending.
The finance department frequently checks that the managers of the other departments are on target and are using their given budget efficiently and investigates thoroughly if there is concern.
The budget given to individual departments is calculated in relation to their services and their requirement of funds in order to function properly for e.g. production: needs high amount of funds to purchase raw materials and paying for their manufacturing costs.
The cost of individual products/services needs calculation in relation to their manufacturing price and the amount of profit margin that needs to be obtained off that product/service.
The past costs and budgets are also analysed with their newly calculated costs and examine the factors that have changed the cost. The factors include:
- Inflation
- Interest rates
- Exchange rates
- Tax etc
These factors need reviewing before calculating the new costs and budgets.
Managing Finance
When the company finance is under pressure it needs to manage it efficiently and also find resources that can boost its finances for the present and future.
To raise additional capital for new resources Asda may decide to borrow money by subjecting to issue additional shares in the company.
The financial manager might decide to assess the options available to him and advise the board of directors to solve the crisis.
Asda can also borrow money at the cheapest rate so it can reinvest in itself to gain more profit in the future which will than be able to payback its debt.
If it is finding paying for raw materials and manufacturing costs difficult than it can pay by instalments instead of paying in one lump sum so in order for this strategy to take place its credit reference is obtained in order to decide the amount of credit that needs to be issued.
Payroll
The payroll operation today is normally computerised, using the necessary payroll software packages.
To calculate how much is to be paid to employees the amount of hours worked of individual employees are gathered from the human resources database that shows accurate information of employee hours worked, overtime and bonus payments. This information is sent to the computer that calculates the gross payment that is needed to give to the employee which needs tax and national insurance deduction and in turn the net salary of the employee is either paid weekly or monthly and continues to transfer the money from the organisations account to the employees account.
The payroll records are stored for each employee on the database for producing payroll summaries for the Inland Revenue.
Once the entries have been made, the payroll employees at the financial sector confirms them carefully before sending the instructions to the bank, to make sure no errors are made.
They need to make sure they send the employee an itemised statement containing current payments, deductions and giving a running total for that present tax year for the employee’s record.
At the end of each tax year (5 April) the financial payroll staff must create end of year payroll summaries for the Inland Revenue and issue P60s, which show accurate detail of the years earnings and tax paid, to all employees.
I.C.T
The role of I.C.T is recognized to be one of the crucial elements for success in the financial department largely because of computer technology.
Spreadsheets are popularly used to analyse income and expenditure, special accounting software and MIS - management information systems process data rapidly to provide accurate and detailed financial information.
This software automatically adjusts accounts when incoming and outgoing amounts are entered and also updates banking records as money is banked.
Payroll software packages are also used to calculate wages and salaries. These are than recorded for each staff member as payroll records.
Communication via electronic mail to other employees and departments e.g. notifying Customer services that they’re not using the budget efficiently.
They are also used for video conferencing to communicate with other departments e.g. Human Resources to solve salary issues if there is an error.
Printers are used to show hard copies of files to other members of staff or to print off letters to send to their fellow employees.
Telephones are used to contact fellow employees or departments for certain issues.
Smart boards and projectors are now used increasingly to demonstrate presentations at meetings.
Fax is used to send important documents if asked by directors of Asda regarding financial reports.
Production
All businesses need resources to survive in the market they include:
- Buildings
- Land
- Equipment
- People
- Materials
Without these resources they cannot thrive or gain profit.
This is where production comes in and obtains the resources required to produce products or provide services offered by the business.
A company like Asda has to produce goods in order to sell them at a profit.
In order for Asda to sell its own brand of goods it first needs to buy the raw materials and manufacture them into a finished product.
To manufacture a finished product Asda needs special machinery, quality tests, raw materials and employees to make sure the process is going smoothly. The person in charge for all this is the production manager who controls the whole operation.
Asda first of all needs raw materials; these are bought in bulk quantities. These raw materials are bought sufficiently in relation to storage space, amount used and minimising wastage of stock.
To buy raw materials for certain products a reliable supplier needs to be discovered and the production employees are than in charge of researching that supplier for the following qualities:
- quality of the raw materials
- transportation and delivery of raw materials
- ability to give competitive prices
- have positive relations with his/her customers
- deliver materials at short notice
- availability of raw materials
- loyal to contract terms
When a supplier matched with these qualities is contacted a contract is negotiated by him/her and Asda and than Asda starts purchasing materials from that supplier to manufacture them into quality products.
Once the raw materials are obtained for a certain product the production staff than assign the raw materials to either be manually manufactured by industrial workers or manufactured by process of Automation – a process which manufactures services/goods by means of machinery excluding manmade production.
When the process is decided the productions staff assigns factory workers to follow certain procedures and instructions regarding manufacturing of a certain product.
If the process is by automation than procedure is programmed to a computer that automatically assigns machinery to start manufacturing.
This process is efficient as machinery movements and processes are precise and accurate and the process is exactly repeated and recorded. A small quantity of staff supervises this process and patches up any errors.
When raw materials are manufactured into products safety inspections, quality controls and other tests are carried out on randomly chosen products to assess the product if it is safe to be sold at the store.
Once the product is finished it is than continued to be packaged and the packaging label should contain the right information regarding its contents.
There are various types of productions they include:
- Job – these are only done once e.g. paintings
- Batch – where a load of one item is produced in bulk and than moved on to a different one e.g. bakery items
- Continuous – these type of products go through different stages until a product is finished e.g. electronics
I.C.T
The production sector has functions that need aid of I.C.T to work efficiently.
E-mail to communicate with other departments and suppliers regarding issues for e.g. material availability and cost.
Telephones are used to communicate with factory managers if another batch of products is to be made.
Mobiles to communicate with production staff who are in meetings with suppliers to request more material.
Faxes used to send orders to suppliers to question if a certain amount of material is available for purchase.
Computers also used to communicate through video conferencing between productions manager and overseas suppliers to negotiate contract terms.
The different software that does tasks efficiently these include:
- reminding production staff if there is shortage of material in storage
- assigns automation machinery to do manufacturing
- Recording all amounts of material and the resulting products to record wastage.
Customer Services
Customers are vital to every business as their payments provide income for businesses. Without customers businesses would suffer massively and will not receive a profit and eventually will go bankrupt and finally close down.
Customers have very high privileges when it comes to purchasing products e.g. when products/services are bought by customers they expect the products to be of fine quality; so the more they pay the better quality they expect.
Customers also have certain legal rights when they buy products or services and businesses have to follow these rights accordingly by law.
Along with all this customers also expect staff to:
- give rapid attention and service
- have information regarding the product they are selling
- polite, friendly and helpful
- concentrate on specific requirements
- offer extra services
The products and services available at Asda are similar to those of Tesco and Sainsbury’s, so customers have a choice to go to any store they wish, as they will find the same goods. If customers find Asda a positive experience to do their shopping they will not just buy goods once, but return again and again. So customer services are about providing Asda’s customers the best of services.
Customer services also need to fulfil consumers’ needs and make them feel important and provide a vast range of services which will fulfil them and begin a trust of loyalty between Asda and the customer.
Information
Customers require information and their queries are varied so a customer service assistant wouldn’t hold all the information; his/her reaction to the query should be helpful to the customer like showing a positive attitude, gathering information quickly and this service is rewarded by the customer as they feel satisfied with the entire company.
Consumer might ask the following:
- technical details of a certain product or service
- general question regarding the business
- about the range of products and services in store
- the location of another store
- if a product will be in stock at another store
- general facilities nearby
Customer services staff should have sufficient general information on the products and services they sell and know the range on offer. In a store, they should know specific locations of these products. Checking if products are in stock and when the next delivery of that product will arrive. In Asda this information is stored on a computer database so it is easily searched by staff members. The database will record customers’ details if they have membership to the store and store their details of recent purchases and amounts paid and their status on reward schemes.
A stock database will give details of prices, delivery times and availability of products.
Advice
Advice is more accurate that just information as it is tailored to the customers precise needs and requires greater knowledge.
Some types of advice are posed as critical as the consequences of these are serious as wrong advice may be given. Particularly advice regarding medical and financial matters must be clear and correct.
Asda’s technical services are in charge of serious complex queries and they deal with these situations. These specialists are specifically trained to deal with these queries professionally.
In Asda’s case these include insurance services.
Credit facilities
Some products at Asda are costly and customers who require purchasing them don’t have the full amount to purchase these goods. This is where credit facilities come in and help the consumer as they receive the item immediately but they pay for the product over months or years.
Purchasing on credit can be in these ways:
- Credit card: Asda credit cards have certain credit limits which cannot be exceeded and an interest rate charges the credit card holder on their purchases. A credit bill is issued every month to notify the card holder how much he is overdue.
- Direct debit: A product or service can also be paid in instalments through the customer’s bank account directly without prior confirmation. Some services charge extra for being paid by direct debit such as Asda insurance services.
Delivery service
Asda’s customers might buy heavy and bulk items such as televisions. If they decide they’re transport wont be suitable for this product as danger of damaging or theft is present they might want to consider the home delivery service.
Asda has offers for either free delivery service on goods costing more than a certain limit or a discount on delivery for such goods.
If the customer thinks they are receiving a fair deal they will complete the transaction but if it is costing them too much they will decide to dismiss purchase of that certain product.
Asda customers can do their shopping online and get it delivered to them for free if the customer buys over a certain limit. If Asda’s online shopping is more than satisfactory than more and more customers will buy from them instead of their competitors but if the service is expensive, the goods are missing than customers will stop using Asda’s service.
After sales service
Goods sold in Asda such as Branded consumer electronics come with guarantees and warranties. If a certain product is faulty after its purchase from the Asda store than it can be returned or exchanged. If this process is done smoothly than the customer will feel satisfied and won’t hesitate in buying a product with similar services but if this process is ignored, takes too much time than the customer will never buy such products from Asda again.
I.C.T
As Asda has revolutionised its I.C.T service due to computer technology its customer services are now online as all product and service ranges are listed on the website with the essential information.
The delivery service is recorded on the database to minimize delays and a scheduled time table shows when to depart so it minimizes on unorganized fuel expenditures.
The telephone is used to communicate with customers to provide a satisfactory after sales service.
Fax service is used to contact customers’ bank to receive credit history of the customer in order to execute a credit transaction.
E-mail is used to mail customers who have bought their shopping online to give a list of the products bought.
Marketing
Marketing is regarded as identifying customer needs and providing it.
It makes sure it is one step ahead of the customer.
In order for the business to achieve customer satisfaction it has to undertake a wide range of activities.
In order for the business to sell its products or services effectively the marketing department needs to play a vital role in its effectiveness.
Promoting
Asda has its own brand of products and services suited for various target groups like children, students, families etc.
To promote these products to certain individual groups the marketing team has to analyse their age, gender, income, lifestyle and geographical area.
So example if they’re selling ready made meals their target group would be mostly students. Students are regarded as busy individuals so the ready made meal is suited for them but as their income is low the meal has to be promoted at a fair price.
Their lifestyle maybe social and outgoing so these cases present a factor in promoting that meal. Their buying habits also demonstrate their likes and dislikes.
The geographical area for example demonstrates the neighbouring groups of people and in most cases individuals from the same area tend to purchase the same products or services.
A product or service doesn’t exist in the market unless it is promoted. The promotional methods vary, depending on the product or service sold. The product or service might be sold regionally, nationally or internationally.
Promotional campaigns aim to draw Attention to the product or service; then create an interest; thirdly develop a desire for the product and finally instructing an Action on how to buy it.
Advertising
Adverts are created by agencies on behalf of the business which is trying to promote its product or service and adverts are supposed to be unique and stand out from the rest.
The way Asda advertises itself is by branding as it makes its products distinctive through its packaging and its advertising slogan ‘and that’s Asda price.’
Asda will decide which media it will advertise through however as it is a national company it will advertise on national T.V and newspapers. To obtain the success of such advertisements a survey is executed to determine how customers noticed the product or service.
Sales Promotions
A sales campaign is introduced in Asda to possibly promote a low demanding product or new products to create customer demand. The sales campaign lowers prices or offers buy one get one free type offers.
Publicity Campaigns
A publicity operation is when a range of promotional methods combine to focus the public’s attention on a product or service.
Asda wants itself and its brand in the appearance of the public eye so it receives free publicity.
Asda also sponsors charities like tickled pink a breast cancer charity to show positive publicity.
Market Research
Market Research is an investigation to find the customers requirements and insights on potential new products and services as well as existing ones.
Primary Research
This type of research is first hand which involves collecting and analysing information that is original and up to date.
There are various methods to obtain primary research the popular ones are following:
- Postal Surveys – involves sending registered customers questionnaires through the mail which they complete and return it back to Asda. This survey reaches a large audience in a short space of time but the replies will be less as some customers would ignore the survey.
- Personal Surveys – this type of survey will be in-store and a researcher would survey face-to-face with the consumer. This survey reaches a small audience in a long space of time. It is not highly effective as some consumers won’t stop and carry out the survey.
- Telephone questionnaires – it involves interviewing people through the phone; this method is cheap but is time consuming.
- Online surveys – this is the newest method that reaches the highest possible audience in a short space of time. This is considered cheapest and reliable than most surveys.
Before executing the survey a questionnaire needs to be designed and structured by a market research team or agency. They are in charge of creating the questionnaire and analysing the results. The questions must be phrased appropriately to obtain the information that is required. The questions need to be structured so a choice of options makes analysing the results fairly easy.
Questions usually target on:
- Similar type of products or services
- The type of products or services the consumer prefers
- The price paid
- The additional price the consumer would pay for extra features
- The customers buying habits
- Consumers views on certain products and services.
As the introduction of loyalty and reward cards from Asda marketing has been easier as the cards record the buying habits of customers and the marketing team observe their most popular, effective and demanding products and their non demanding products.
Secondary Research
Secondary Research is collected information previously by someone else and analysed already. This sort of information would be stored in a market research agency database for reference and is also sold to organisations that want information.
Government Statistics also have information on consumer expenditure and details of competitors.
I.C.T
Computer databases store information previously collected from research for comparison.
Specialised computer programs record the products purchased by customer via loyalty/reward cards. They also record the points issued to customers.
Telephones are used to contact other departments and also carry out telephone marketing.
The computer programs also design appropriate surveys which are than used for research purposes.
Fax is used to contact advertising agencies and directors to give product marketing results.
Functional Areas within Swift Supplies
Human Resources
Swift Supplies has an organised and regularly maintained human resources department.
It is a small business which employs five people excluding the owner.
The owner has complete jurisdiction over this department.
There is a folder for each employee and their details are saved in the employee database which records everything regarding them.
Spreadsheet is used to record their wages.
They also maintain employee records, these records which days they have worked and how many hours they have missed.
The owner recruits new staff through the local job centre.
This is only temporary staff for only the summer and Christmas period as these are the busiest times.
Permanent employees are only hired to replace old employees if they leave the company or if the company expands and there is a shortage of staff.
Staff’s health and safety trainings are regularly repeated for their safety.
If any new staff is hired than he/she is trained by other older and experienced staff.
Some staff is not fully experienced and they are trained everyday and if they are not fully contributing then they are disciplined so the business is run and maintained smoothly.
Swift supplies deals with regular products, all the employees know the nature of these products, but if any new products are received than the company gives full technical information of the new product to their staff.
To retain their staff they have set up necessary pay and simple conditions so the employees are satisfied and the company is satisfied with their staff.
I.C.T
As the business is small the communication is simple and mostly by word of mouth but if staff are not present than they are communicated via company’s telephone, mobile phone and email account to keep in touch and build a professional relationship between them and the company.
Finance
This section is very important as it is in charge of the capital coming in and out of the business so it is handled fully by one person.
This department manages and pays all the bills of the company. They are also in charge of keeping various business accounts and considering if they are up-to-date.
They also keep a record of their profits and losses each year as their financial reports. This needs to be done because it is necessary as this leads to showing the Inland Revenue this report. If these are not recorded or organised appropriately then it will affect badly towards the business and end up in capital being lost.
The business keeps a record of all transactions (expenditures and sales) as these determine VAT and VAT returns. These are processed via excel spreadsheet to calculate quarterly VAT to be paid and also the VAT returns they will receive.
At the start of each year the costs and budget of the company is predicted and at the end of the year the real costs and budgets file is compared with the prediction to search for miscalculation, errors or losses.
The finance department is also in charge of paying staff wages.
This is first calculated on the spreadsheet and is decided upon employees hours worked and also calculating their benefits.
This data is saved up on the computer and printed off to put in folders.
I.C.T
Computers are used to store transaction data and they are processed by Microsoft Excel and Sage programs.
Fax is used to request invoices from suppliers so the invoices can be recorded on the database.
Customer Services
Swift Supplies deals with various different and existing customers each day, so the employees are trained to respect and provide excellent services towards their customers but their top most priority is to look after their customer’s requirements and to deal with their feedback.
If a complaint is given then the staff quickly deal with that problem so it never arises again so more customers trade with Swift Supplies and effectively increases their profits.
All customer feedback including all the complaints and their solutions are stored in the computer database for future reference.
Swift Supplies also provides information on their various product ranges to their customers.
They also offer individual product advice and their instructions, also their product safety.
They offer an after sales service i.e. guarantee towards their customers and aid them in their enquiries
To their online customers they offer delivery information such as postage and packaging price and their delivery dates.
I.C.T
The computer database stores customer feedback and queries for reference to future problems.
It also stores product details to refer to when the product is out of stock.
Telephones are used to provide an after sales service to customers and check regularly to form a professional relationship between them to enquire if they are in need of stock.
Marketing and Sales
Swift Supplies is a small company and it does not run a permanent marketing function although it does basic tasks to aid its marketing and sales.
Introductory low prices and offers are established on new products to promote product demand and clearance prices are initiated on low demanding stock to clear them.
There isn’t much market research being commenced but employees visit retail shops and observe their products on sale, than they introduce the new product lines which in turn catch the eyes of retailers and they start buying bulk quantities from Swift Supplies Ltd.
Swift Supplies carry’s out face to face surveys from its best customers to determine the new product lines and signify what products are low demanding.
I.C.T
Telephone is used to communicate with suppliers to order a catalogue of new stock and carry out a survey with best customers who will signify which products have a high demand.
Fax is also used for similar purposes.
Computers are also used to store product data that can be reviewed to find demand of products.
Asda
How the functional areas help to achieve the business aims?
The functional areas have different tasks and roles that also target to achieve the companies aims and objectives because if they are successful than the company as a whole is successful.
The aims are achieved by the following functional areas,
- Human Resources: They aim to successfully achieve ‘Respect for the individual.’
To accomplish this Asda’s Human Resources takes care of its employees or in other words respect them and treat them in a fair and appropriate manner. Human Resources professionally reach a relationship and mutual agreement achieves this they than receive the trust and loyalty from its employees.
The employees feel satisfied and understand that when Human Resources respect them they should respect the company’s consumers and in turn respect the customers and treat them appropriately.
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Finance: Their target is to accomplish ‘To be Britain’s best value retailer exceeding customer needs… Always’
To perform this finance is in charge of setting appropriate prices to their products and services which should considerably be economical to the consumer and as stated in the aim to be a best value retailer.
- Production: Their goal is ‘Strive for excellence.’
It needs to be accomplished by purchasing quality raw materials from trusted suppliers and manufactured into excellent products that are as a result high on quality and low on value.
- Customer Services: The aim for this is ‘Service to our customers’
It is to be achieved by providing the best service to the customers and fulfilling their needs and servicing their queries.
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Marketing: ‘To be Britain’s best value retailer exceeding customer needs… Always’ marketing tries to promote the Asda brand so it can exceed customer needs as marketing needs to be ahead of the customer it will exceed their demands and expectations.
Swift Supplies
How the functional areas help to achieve the business aims?
The aims are achieved by the following functional areas,
- Human Resources:
- Finance
- Customer Services
- Marketing and sales
The aim of swift supplies is to engage in trading activities, create profits and serve the specific requirements of the consumers.
This means swift supplies should participate in trading, wholesale and distributing to gain profits and serve the specific needs of the customers.
The objective is to serve the consumers, satisfy their needs and make growths in terms of income, profits, improve their services and quality, and be ahead of the competition.
Asda
How I.C.T helps the functional areas to work together?
The role of I.C.T aids the functional areas greatly however it has interconnected the functional areas together to make communication quick, reliable and secure.
A network of computers has been created that gains access to most functional area files so this is straightforward by a click of a button.
This can be employee files created by Human resources which are than accessed by the finance sector that determines staff wages and bonus payments.
The customer database can also be accessed for marketing purposes to obtain customer buying habits for research purposes.
The telephone and mobile phone are now the best combination as communication can be internal and external as production representatives may be in an external meeting with suppliers and the representatives can contact via the company mobile phone to the finance sector to notify and arrange payment to pay for raw materials.
Fax is also used to send a purchase order to suppliers from productions department instead of sending through costly and insecure postal service.
Electronic mail is now the most rapid form of communication available that is free, secure and reliable however spam e-mails distract staff off their work.
Presentations used for training purposes are also saved onto the database for editing or reference.
Swift Supplies
How I.C.T helps the functional areas to work together?
The computer database also has quarterly business accounts saved as well as employee files and also customer databases. These have secure access to certain individuals and are used for referencing purposes.
The telephone and mobile phone are mostly used in conjunction if an employee has gone to meet with a supplier and has forgot to order a certain product the staff at the business premises contact them through their mobile and notify them of the missing product. This way contact is rapid externally.
Fax is used to promote the products and all the sales campaigns designed by the company to send off to customers.
Asda
How effectively do the functional areas work together to achieve the aims?
The functional areas at Asda work well together to accomplish the business aims. All departments support each other and their functions mainly play a role in achieving the aims and objectives.
In addition to all this the functional areas make an individual contribution to meet the needs of the aims and objectives. The aims were designed around the functional areas so they are appropriate for each department and are suited specifically for each department.
For confirmation that the aims are achieved the senior members of each department and also directors and shareholders attend annual meetings as a whole company to discuss issues regarding the company e.g. decreasing profits, low market share, low competitiveness and make sure the company is on track and is successfully achieving the aims.
Finally with the high level of I.C.T in the business contact between departments is easy and frequent helping to meet Asda’s aim.
Swift Supplies
How effectively do the functional areas work together to achieve the aims?
The departments successfully communicate together to solve issues quickly and effectively as well as help each other to do functions properly. The relationship between staff is professional so it means that communication is appropriate.
Regular meetings are also held as well to ensure the business is on track also it is adhereing to its aims and objectives and also is performing well against its competitors.
The business has good communication by keeping up to date with latest appropriate and affordable technology communication to improve methods.
Asda
How possible improvements in I.C.T might help the functional areas to work together more effectively?
Asda has to keep up to date with latest appropriate technology and software in order to function effectively to reduce costs and thus increase its profits.
It needs to purchase new software to help functional areas even further.
It can invest capital for technological projects appropriate for Asda needs which would be rewarded by those exclusive tailor made products.
Swift Supplies
How possible improvements in I.C.T might help the functional areas to work together more effectively?
The business can provide its staff with company mobile phones so there is a form of external communication available if the employee is not in the company premises.
It can also buy new software such as SAGE which quickly does the company accounts which helps the finance department. A server can also be purchased which holds company information and also improves the performance of computers.
Location of Asda
Asda is a major global company, with stores located worldwide. The store researched is at the Owlcotes Centre in Pudsey, Leeds.
Pudsey is between the border of Leeds and Bradford. It is situated in the Northeast part of Leeds.
The train station is also presented opposite the Owlcotes Centre.
The bus stop is also situated at the entrance of the Owlcotes centre. There are normal bus services running and also a free bus service for the elderly and the disabled. The motorway is the official route of the motorists so it is used to reach the Asda store.
This location is ideal in many following ways,
Workforce: As the branch is located in the outer area away from the central area the demand for workers is low and the wages are low. This suits the Asda branch because as it is easy to recruit employees and pay a lower wage rate than at a central area.
Premises: The value of the property is much lower as it is at the outer edge of the city instead of the centre.
Customers: The customers are suited to this location as they arrive without the hassle of traffic as in the central areas.
Suppliers: Suppliers are eager to make sure the goods arrive at Asda hassle free without the congestion and as the location is near to the motorways the regular deliveries would be faster.
The map shows that the owlcotes centre is located at the Stanningley Bypass with a lot of main roads going around it with roads like Bradford Road and Richard Shaw Lane.
Location of Swift Supplies
Swift Supplies has a single branch so it will be researched.
It is a double jointed branch situated in Aldgate. Aldgate is one of the major Central London Areas.
The bus stop is two minutes walk from Swift Supplies and various bus routes commute through the area. There are three close underground stations Aldgate, Aldgate East and Liverpool Street there are multiple rail lines and also trains travelling through these stations.
The location is ideal for wholesalers and retailers as the surrounding businesses sell similar wholesale goods. This attracts buyers to visit and purchase their goods regularly from the same place.
Nearby is the famous Petticoat Lane Market that attracts a lot of buyers and thus leads to them visiting the store.
The map shows that Swift Supplies is situated at 6 and 8 new Goulston Street just off Goulston Street. The main roads surrounding it are Commercial and Whitechapel Street.
Asda
Key Customers
The key customers of Asda consist mainly of local residents and they’re mostly pensioners, school students and families from neighbouring towns such as Leeds and Bradford. They visit it because it is very near to where they live and it is ideal for those who live further away as they don’t go through the rush of going to town instead on the motorway.
It is also situated in a shopping centre so it means a lot of surrounding shops reduce the hassle of shopping elsewhere for different products.
Swift Supplies
Key Customers
As Swift Supplies is located in the central area it gets a lot of new visitors mostly passers by, tourists, wholesalers and also employees from the surrounding financial offices.
Asda
Main Competitors
Asda is in the competitive market of the supermarket industry. The following are its main competition,
- Marks and Spencer’s
- The Co-Operative Group
- Morrison’s
- Somerfield
The market leader at present is Tesco which is expanding rapidly and offering a more wider range of services.
Swift Supplies
Main Competitors
It is not a global or regional company but its competitors are the surrounding businesses that offer similar goods.
The competitors are,
- Glitter Fancy goods
- Dinex Time
- Zenith fancy goods
- RealMark Ltd
The market leader at present is Swift Supplies but Dinex Time is competiting very furiously but Swift Supplies will continue their dominance in the market.
Asda
Economic Conditions
Prices: The products Asda stock are similar to the other supermarkets because they stock products from various companies.
If the neighbouring competitor like Morrison’s reduces its prices significantly for the branded products and Asda does not respond than it will lose customers to Morrisons.
Interest Rates: As the interest rate rises this affects the customers as they spend less at Asda because they have to pay their liabilities.
They will spend more if the interest rate is low.
Wage Rates: As the wage rates rise than customers will exceed the amount spent at Asda however Asda will also have to increase staff wages.
Exchange Rates: The currency Asda
