Strategic Management at New World Supermarket NZ

Introduction

Strategic resource evaluation is effectively determined by the rate at which the resources of an organization are allocated towards the concept of strategic management. This study will look into the case of New World a supermarket brand in the case of New Zealand. The study will seek to evaluate the current plan of action for New World which is being used. It will seek to understand the various different process deficiencies and then set up appropriate measures for the management and allocation of resources for the company in New Zealand. The areas of focus for the purpose of this study have been limited to resource planning and strategic management planning. A human resource plan will also be set up further.

 

1. Plan for the selected organisation

The business model of the New World has changed over time and the processes of the company have been made innovation-intensive to further the prospect of growth for the company of the New World Supermarket. The strategic plan of the company primarily focuses on the aspect of CSR and further extends the scope to the development of sustainability within the organisation and the communities around it (Newworld.co.nz, 2020). New World as a supermarket is a highly performing supermarket on a local scale. It is efficient in its customer service and also lays emphasis on heightened levels of back-up supply chains (Transpower.co.nz, 2020). Primarily the backup supply chains of the company are efficient as they help to sustain the demand response for the company (Newworld.co.nz, 2020). The mobile app set up by the company appeals to a wider range of audiences and helps the company in growing its business in a stable manner. The company lays prime importance on sustainability and community development. Intensive and hard measures have been taken by the brand to reduce its carbon footprint (Newworld.co.nz, 2020). The brand also runs multiple partnerships and invests in the development of the Kiwi community. It has offered investments in healthcare as well.

 

2. Review of organizational strategic plan and assessment of current organizational resource and capabilities

The current strategic plan for the organization of New World is very effective and efficient. It serves the purpose of appropriate CSR and also aids the prospect of branding for the purpose of the company. Ajina et al. (2019), states that a CSR prospect helps extend the scope of a company to the communities that it effectively surrounds. This helps the company to ensure that it can aid the development of the community by generating jobs and instilling good will. This also helps to ensure that the company is made sustainable in the long term. Community development prospects of the company further extend to the range of funding, the general paediatric ward. They also teach basic skills such as cooking and invest intensively in the new-born care unit. A star ship national feeding clinic is also sponsored by the company of New world effectively. This allows them to generate high CSR goodwill. Further, the prospect of sustainability for the company is well regarded and it also focuses on the correct areas. The company creates advantages by reducing their storage emissions by appropriate waste management system incorporation (Newworld.co.nz, 2020). Furthermore, the organization also seeks to consolidate its freight deliveries by reducing its vehicle movement requirements and making lean supply chains. Investments by the company have been made to generate electrical rapid transportation systems which would help in further reduction of the carbon footprint of the supermarket (Newworld.co.nz, 2020). The company uses to its advantage the favourable conditions in New Zealand for solar power. This helps in reducing the required amount of fuel consumption and further prohibits pollution.

Figure 1: New World Strategic Management Approach

(Source: As influenced by Tortorella et al. 2017)

From the integration approach of the company of New World, it can be understood that the company is effective at making lean systems. This helps the company to ensure that high rates of carbon emissions are prevented and the productivity of the resources are enhanced. Tortorella et al. (2017), states that smooth systems help an organization to create greater effectiveness in the range of their processes. The approach enables the supermarket brand to help in the development of a system which is competitive in nature.

However, there are a few distinct problems in the strategy of the company of New World. The company’s approach to strategic management is not innovative and is very traditional in nature. This affects the Human resource efficiency prospect of the company. The company focuses on the increase in unit margin and sales only. The strategic management process is entirely focussed on ensuring that the sales are increased. It can be inferred from the study of Rothaermel (2016), that the prospect of strategic management is enhanced when there is an appropriate focus on resource management strategies. This helps in increasing the response rate and also in bringing innovation and integrating them more easily. The company of New World primarily needs to focus on the creation of efficient systems which can manage resource allocation with vigour. This would help the company to enhance its strategic management system and also enable it to become more competitive.

3. Creation of a Resource Evaluation plan for effective strategic management

Resource	Method of Evaluation	Tools to be Used	Indicators set for evaluation	Description
Raw materials	This aspect will be evaluated by the use of cross-checking entry and exit of raw materials and also the rate of loss of the materials.	The tools to be used are resource checklists, process charts and production schedules.	Rate of loss of raw materials Rate of waste of raw materials Number of defects in raw materials	The resource of raw materials will be gauged by the rate of loss of raw materials.  Gao et al. (2016), states that the rate of loss of commodities indicates the difference between input and output. It determines the efficiency of the process and how efficient resource allocation can be done.
Land	The rate at which land is organised and the level of empty spaces which can be rearranged.	The tools to be used for the purpose of this are blueprints, rearrangement schedule and process servicing schedules and plans.	The percentage of empty land The space required for processes to be serviced The safety plans of the space allowed	The evaluation of appropriate use of land will be correlated to the use of processes and their servicing spaces which have been taken up. Idle and can be reused and the plans for processes can be reset using lean management and six sigma systems to reduce hindrances and increase productivity.
Labour	The labour will be gauged by using a human resource plan which is to be set up.	Time schedules, employee satisfaction reports, internal audits and company culture assessment.	360-degree feedback Rate of efficiency in the workforce Labour turnover	The Workforce of the organisation will be gauged by assessing its efficiency. The deficiency will be assessed by understanding job roles better. Jadon & Upadhyay (2018), states that the job role assessment helps in ascertaining job roles and increases productivity. This would help to understand how to restructure the organisation and what positions need to be interchanged. It would also help in the development of training processes.
Finances	Internal Audits will be used to evaluate the efficiency of financial resources and their allocations.	The tools to be used are financial statements, key ratios and audits reports.	The profit earnings of the organisation The return on investments of the company Gross profit ratio, Net profit ratio and current ratio figures Audit reports for control	The evaluation will be conducted by the use of the combination of all the financial tools enumerated. This would help in order to understand the rate of efficiency in financial allocation and would further help in changing the same according to the needs of the organisation.
Intellectual resources	These will be assessed by understanding the rate at which the business is viewed and the number of resources available.	The tools to be used are the audits of the company for its sustainability scope and CSR perspective and further the list of patents it has.	Number of patents owned by the company Customer satisfaction rates Community perspectives on the company Number of developmental initiatives, their impact and how they are received.	The process will be undertaken by the use of evaluating the perspective regarding the business in the surrounding community and in the views of the customers. This would help in gauging the goodwill of the company effectively. Further, the number of patents would indicate the viability of technology for the company. The number of investments and the impact of CSR projects will help in understanding the effectiveness and focus of the company on sustainability.

Table 1: Resource Evaluation plan

(Source: As influenced by Rothaermel, 2016)

 

4. Review and outline of the strategic business objectives for New World

In terms of the company of New World, there are a host of strategic business objectives which the company needs to primarily focus on. This would help the organization to effectively increase its level of competitiveness in the market.

 

Objective 1: To ensure that the land and raw material resource of the organization are used effectively

Specific	The objective is specific in nature as it is aimed at the development of a system of resource efficiency and allocation.
Measurable	The objective is measurable as the land use can be measured by lean system blueprints and that of raw materials can be measured by input and output ratio and raw material loss.
Achievable	The objective is achievable as the resources involved can be reallocated and are real resources.
Realistic	The objective is also realistic as the resources involved are connected intricately to that of New World.
Timely	The objective further is time bound s only a period of 6 months has been allowed for setting up the same.

 

Objective 2: To ensure that the labour allocation of the organisation is appropriate and effective

Specific	The objective is specific as the company of New World needs to create greater efficiency by re matching job roles to respective personnel in the workforce.
Measurable	It is measurable in terms of the efficiency of productivity of the company and the rates of labour turnover and employee satisfaction levels. Levels of disputes will also provide an appropriate method of evaluation.
Achievable	The objective is further achievable as the company can relocate its human resources to create better productivity levels.
Realistic	The goal is realistic as the human resources when readjusted can create higher rates of efficiency in the organisation.
Timely	The objective further is time bound s only a period of 4 months has been allowed for setting up the same.

 

Objective 3: To ensure that the financial resources of the company and intellectual resources are used to create efficiency

Specific	The objective is specific as financial resources and intellectual resources can be reallocated and gauged using appropriate tools.
Measurable	The objective is also measurable in terms of company efficiency rates and the rate of financial goodwill and investor relations of the company.
Achievable	The objective is further achievable due to its wide scope and the ability to reallocate investments and change the goodwill by engaging in CSR and sustainability functions.
Realistic	The resources are realistic innate and even though intangible affect the company realistically. This objective is realistic in nature.
Timely	The objective further is time bound s only a period of 5 months has been allowed for setting up the same.

 

Review of objectives and alignment to company strategy

The objectives are aimed primarily at resource reallocation. This is aligned with the strategic scope of the company and the resource plan as these processes will help the organisation to improve its performance. In a study conducted by Shams (2016), it is stated that resource reallocation helps to change the productivity rates of a company. Graban (2018), also adds by stating that the leaner the system of management of a resource the higher is the productivity of an organisation. This is indicative of the proper alignment of the company strategy to its objectives and resource plans.

5. Creation of a human resource plan aligned to strategic business objectives and for identification of areas of change

Activity	Objectives of activity	Expected outcomes	Description
Training and Development	The objective of this activity is to enhance the skills of the workers of the organisation and make them better suited to more sustainable systems employed by the organisations	Better skill development in the workforce Higher levels of output and process efficiency A better system of control and monitoring of processes	Training and development will help in aligning the goals of the workforce to the goals of the organisation. Tweedie et al. (2019), states that the alignment of Human Resource goals to the organisational objectives helps in generating competitive stability. It also increases long term organisational efficiency.
Reallocation of Human resources	The objective of this activity is to better match the human resources to the new processes being set up within the range of the organisation.	To increase efficiency within the frameworks of the lean system To ensure that the lean systems of the company are complemented and effectively used To ensure higher productivity rates within the organisation	The reallocation of human resources helps in order to ensure that skills sets appropriately can be matched to the job requirements. This helps in order to ensure that the company is able to innovate and use the full extent of their workforce to generate high productivity levels without pressuring the workforce excessively.
Dispute Resolution	The objective of this activity is to enhance the morale in the organisation and ensure appropriate levels of safety and motivation.	Ensuring that the company has a free and innovative work environment Ensuring that the safety of the work environment is enhanced Creating a more tolerant workforce for the company Ensuring higher levels of employee satisfaction and lesser rates of disputes	This activity will help to ensure that the organisation can create a safe environment for its employees and boost their morale and motivation.
Cross-Cultural Management	The objective of this activity is to increase tolerance and create a safe working space.	Creation of a safe and tolerant work culture Improvement of morale	This activity aims to create a discrimination free workforce environment and subsequently boost morale. This would help increase communication efficiency.
Performance Management and review	The objective of this activity is to gauge the performance loopholes in the company	Enduring performance is increased Ensuring higher efficiency and productivity	This activity aims at the creation of an effective productivity flow and alignment of the human resource to the strategic objectives of the organisation.

                                    Table 2: Human Resource Plan

(Source: As influenced by Rothaermel, 2016)

 

Conclusion

In conclusion to this study, it can be determined that the strategic management prowess of the organization of New World is good and it has the necessary systems to innovate. The alignment of the strategic systems and resources are not appropriate and the company primarily needs to work on the aspect of fixing their systems. This would help the company to create a significant competitive advantage and further expand its operations offshore effectively the company would also be able to generate significant gains by reallocating and focusing on the development of the available human resources. Human resources recruitment might not be an immediate need for the company however, in case of deficit in workforce labour the company may seek to recruit a restricted number of personnel to fill vacancies sufficiently.

 References

• Ajina, A. S., Japutra, A., Nguyen, B., Alwi, S. F. S., & Al-Hajla, A. H. (2019). The importance of CSR initiatives in building customer support and loyalty. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics. 8(2), .189-201. Retrieved on 1 February, 2020 from: https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/17288/3/FullText.pdf
• Gao, T., Shen, L., Shen, M., Liu, L., & Chen, F. (2016). Analysis of material flow and consumption in cement production process. Journal of Cleaner Production, 112(7), 553-565. Retrieved on 4 February, 2020 from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tianming_Gao2/publication/283933824_Analysis_of_material_flow_and_consumption_in_cement_production_process/links/5a727839aca2720bc0d9ef32/Analysis-of-material-flow-and-consumption-in-cement-production-process.pdf
• Graban, M. (2018). Lean hospitals: improving quality, patient safety, and employee engagement. Ed.1. Boca Raton: Productivity Press. Retrieved on 2 February, 2020 from: https://www.storesmart.com/mm5/graphics/categoryimages/lean/Lean_Hospitals_Chapter_6_Excerpt.pdf
• Jadon, P. S., & Upadhyay, B. K. (2018). Employee retention in public and private hospital settings: An empirical study of its relationship with participative climate, and role performance. Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies, 9(1), 37-46. Retrieved on 6 February, 2020 from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/B_K_Upadhyay/publication/322367652_Employee_Retention_in_Public_and_Private_Hospital_Settings_An_Empirical_Study*+++++++_of_its_Relationship_with_Participative_Climate_and_Role_Performance/links/5b6c6b0245851546c9f94303/Employee-Retention-in-Public-and-Private-Hospital-Settings-An-Empirical-Study-of-its-Relationship-with-Participative-Climate-and-Role-Performance.pdf
• Newworld.co.nz, (2020). Environment and Sustainability. Retrieved on 25 January, 2020 from:  https://www.newworld.co.nz/who-we-are/environment-and-sustainability
• Newworld.co.nz, (2020). New world community and sponsorship initiatives. Retrieved on 25 January, 2020 from: https://www.newworld.co.nz/who-we-are/community
• Rothaermel, F. T. (2016). Strategic management: concepts. Ed. 2. New York:  McGraw-Hill Education. Retrieved on 3 February, 2020 from: https://www.amberton.edu/media/Syllabi/Spring%202020/Graduate/MGT6203_21.pdf
• Shams, S. R. (2016). Capacity building for sustained competitive advantage: a conceptual framework. Marketing Intelligence & Planning. 7(1), .342-271. Retrieved on 7 February, 2020 from: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/40320/1/AAM_Shams_MIP_2016_Capacity%20building%20for%20sustained%20competitive%20advantage.pdf
• Tortorella, G. L., Fogliatto, F. S., Anzanello, M., Marodin, G. A., Garcia, M., & Reis Esteves, R. (2017). Making the value flow: application of value stream mapping in a Brazilian public healthcare organisation. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 28(14), 1544-1558. Retrieved on 2 February, 2020 from: https://www.academia.edu/download/45508991/Artigo_TQM_BE_Making_the_value_flow_application_of_value_stream_mapping_in_a_Brazilian_public_healthcare_organisation.pdf
• Transpower.co.nz, (2020). Case Study: New World Kawarau Supermarket. Retrieved on 30 January, 2020 from: https://www.transpower.co.nz/keeping-you-connected/demand-response/case-study-new-world-kawerau-supermarket
• Tweedie, D., Wild, D., Rhodes, C., & Martinov‐Bennie, N. (2019). How does performance management affect workers? Beyond human resource management and its critique. International Journal of Management Reviews, 21(1), 76-96. Retrieved on 3 February, 2020 from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ijmr.12177