Richer Sounds became a limited company in 1978 and was then incorporated on 29 November but has become an unlisted public company since 1990. This means that it does not have shares on sale in the stock exchange book. Also the company has a limit to the amount of money the owners are responsible for business debt and the most the owner can owe is the amount they invest in the business. The organisation decides to become a limited company so that it could enjoy the benefits of limited liability which includes the owner of the business not being personally liable for any debt the business gets into. The organisation then chose to be an unlisted public company so as to increase their status in the eyes of their suppliers. As a public limited company, they produce detailed accounts that are independently audited and these can be used to prove financial standing to new suppliers. When a company obtains a stock exchange listing, they get additional capital but also lose some control of the company to their new shareholders. However this company does not need to obtain extra capital so they find selling their share irrelevant and also get the benefit of keeping full control over the business.
A business aim is defined as a long term goal of a business while a business objective is the short term goal the business hopes to achieve. Richer Sounds have a mission Statement which is: to provide second to none service and value for money for their customers, to provide themselves with secure well paid jobs working in a stimulating and equal opportunities environment, and to be profitable to ensure their long term growth and survival; which helps to ensure that everyone in the organisation is working to achieve the same aims. To ensure that all employees understand the aims of this business, the following thing are stressed on at induction: the first aim is crucial as it is the whole reason why the business exists, the company prides themselves on paying salaries that are generous in relation to the job being done and effort put into it and being able to provide an equal opportunity working environment for all staffs - therefore employees get benefits and bonus schemes on offer also the business cannot survive without profit which is why the main aim of the business is to make profit. These aims are achieved by the business by reviewing and changing their product line so that customers always get value for their money. The organisation has also come up with a suggestion scheme where every staff has a pad to put down their suggestions which is then read by the chairman, Julian Richer. However their objectives which they hope to achieve over the next 12 months are to ‘keep the fun’ & continue to reward staff for their hard work so as to keep them motivated at work, and others vary each year depending on external influences and suggestions that have been made & other developments. The organisation present goals are to: consolidate the business and improve the profitability, develop the audiovisual home cinema range, keep the business fun, keep the level of excellence of customer service above 90% for the company as a whole, and to control the costs through the cost control group to keep these to budget levels.
My investigations into the first business have shown me that there are ongoing problems with the location of the business and the fact that they only sell one particular type of product. I would advice the owners and managers to think about opening more stores in different area around the world and to gradually introduce selling other types of electronics as well as this will Borden their expertise. This will help expand their business and could help increase their maximum profit.
The next business I will now talk about is the well known organisation that specialises in producing soft drinks for the consumption of its customers. This is Coca-Cola. The first Coca-Cola was first created in the United States but it became very popular wherever it went. The first international bottling plants opened in 1906 in Canada, Cuba, and panama and soon a lot more followed. Now over nearly 400 brands in over 200 countries are produced by this company. More than 70% of the company’s income comes from outside U.S., but the real reason the company is global is that the product meet the varied taste preferences of customers everywhere. The company is part of the secondary sector therefore its main activities include producing drinks like fanta, coke, and lilt etc.
This company is also a public limited company and is listed. Therefore there is no limit to how much the owners are responsible for business debt and their shares can also be found for sale on the New York stock exchange list. However the actual production and distribution of Coca-Cola follows a franchising model. The company only produces a syrup concentrate which is sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold Coca-Cola franchises for one or more geographical areas. The bottlers then produce the final drink by mixing the syrup with filtered water and sugar (or artificial sweeteners) and fill it into cans and bottles, which the bottles then sell and distribute to retail stores, vending machines, restaurants and food service distributors. The bottlers are normally also responsible for all advertisement and other sales initiatives within their areas. The Coca-Cola Company owns minority shares in some of its largest franchises but fully independent bottlers produce almost half of the volume sold in the world.
This company has a mission which is to refresh the world in mind, body, and spirit, inspire moments of optimism through their brands and actions, and to create value and make a difference everywhere they engage. They believe that to survive they have to make maximum profit for their shareholder, provide a great place to work where their staff are inspired to be the best they can be, bring to the world a portfolio of beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy peoples desires, nurture a winning network of partners and build mutual loyalty, and to be a responsible global citizen that makes a difference. However everyone that works for or with this company is empowered to expect and maintain the highest standards of quality in products, processes, and relationships as this is one of their objectives. The company’s quality system mandates in-depth self-assessment throughout their operations, by all their business units as it enables them to raise their standards even higher. For example, the company perform precise analyses of their products to ensure they are up to the perfect standards. Their business partners are educated about their standards so they also can meet the highest quality requirements. The company also has a core of business conduct which serves to guide the actions of the staff, officers and director in a way that are consistent with their core values (integrity, diversity, quality, respect, responsibility, and accountability). The company’s manifesto recognizes and invests in their rich long-term opportunities and accepts a renewed responsibility for meeting their short term commitments. Their goals are simply to reinvigorate growth for the company while inspiring people and they achieve this simply by building a portfolio of branded beverages anchored in their icon, and by enabling superior market execution globally and locally- aligning and leveraging the power of our global network.
My investigations into the second business have shown me that there are ongoing problems with the standards to which their drinks are produced to. More customers want healthy drinks so they are therefore drinking less soft drink like fanta. I would advice the owners and managers to think about making their drinks healthier with less sugar and artificial sweeteners advertise more and in order to attract more customers they should sell it more in school and offices. These changes would make the business more effective because it would attract more consumers therefore increasing their maximum profit.
