Analyzing The Operating Environment And Challenges Of Woolworths In The Retail Sector Of Australia, An Essay.

Analyse the operating environment of the organization and the various challenges that it has faced during the course of its operations in the retail sector of Australia.

I am a student in the university who has analysed an Australian organization named Woolworths. The organization has its operations in Australia and New Zealand and is a part of the retail sector of the country. The main purpose of this assignment is to analyse the operating environment of the organization and the various challenges that it has faced during the course of its operations in the retail sector of Australia.

Woolworths is an Australian organization which operates in the retail sector of the country and has its operations in New Zealand as well. The company has acquired the second position in the retail marketing sector with the help of the revenues that it earns from the Australian operations. The first store if Woolworths was opened in Australia in the year 1924. The company had started expanding in the retail market of Australia quite fast and was able to maintain many stores all across the country (Woolworths.com.au., 2018). The stores of the company are quite innovative in nature and this has helped in increasing the revenues of Woolworths further. The positive factors that will help in determining the direction of this discussion include, the strengths of the company and the opportunities that is provided by the expanding market. On the other hand, the negative factors of the organization that will help in the analysis in the report are the weaknesses that are related to the operations of Woolworths and the various threats that it faces in the market (Woolworths.com.au., 2018).

The method that has been used for the research of Woolworths is based on the qualitative research that is considered to be a type of exploratory technique of research. The methodology that is used provides an understanding of the reasons behind the research questions. The challenges that are faced by the organization in the industry have been analysed with the help of the secondary research based on the background of the company in the market. The data is collected with the help of various methods which are related to the collection of relevant information based on the operations of the organization in the industry. The data collection methods thereby include, interviews, e-surveys, domain analysis, observations, brainstorming sessions and the group discussions. The sample size that is used for the data analysis is small and the sets of data are gathered with the help of structured methods, unstructured methods or semi-structured methods (Durand, Grant & Madsen, 2017).

Weaknesses

Personal SWOT

Relationship of SWOT factors with my personal SWOT factors

Strengths – Woolworths has a huge reputation in the retail sector of Australia and New Zealand which is a major reason behind my choice of joining the organization in the future. The organization is totally customer oriented in nature and my abilities to communicate successfully and deal with people of different types makes me fit for joining Woolworths. The organization has a huge share in the market which helps in building the successful careers of the employees or the members who are a part of Woolworths. The growth of the company assists in the faster growth of the careers of its members. The value that is held by the brand in the market will provide a boost to my career and my creative mind will help in the formation of new and innovative ideas. I will be able to start my journey with a huge organization which will provide a huge opportunity for my growth in the market. The online and offline operations of Woolworths will help to reach a wider range of people with the help of the resources that are provided by the company (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). The commitment that has been shown by Woolworths towards the sustainable operations and protection of the environment will help me in creating a different position in the retail sector. I will be able to establish my career with the help of the positive image that has been created by Woolworths in the retail sector.

Weaknesses – Woolworths has a low presence in the international markets. The company is totally dependent on New Zealand and Australia for the revenues that it wishes to earn. This is a threat to my career as the changes that can occur in the external environment can further affect the operations of Woolworths. My introvert nature will act as a hindrance to my development in the company. The organization is dependent on a single for the profits that it wishes to earn in the industry. The economic issues, the labour related issues that can occur in that area will affect the revenues of the organization. The growth of the company will also be affected by the issues occurring in the external environment. Woolworths has been losing the competitive advantage over the organizations in the retail sector of Australia (Meyer et al., 2017). This has affected the revenues of the company as it has to face huge competition from the other big players in the retail market. My career in the retail sector will be affected by the lack of revenues that can be faced by Woolworths due to its weaknesses in the market. The organization has entered the retail market quite late and this has affected its growth in this booming area. This issue will affect my growth in the retail sector.

Opportunities

Opportunities –Woolworths can also take the opportunity and further expand its operations all over Australia. The expansion plans that have been formulated by Woolworths will have positive effects on my career growth. My ability to work in the teams in an effective manner will help me in increasing the efficiency of the teams of which I am a major part. I will be able to increase my own growth related opportunities in this sector. The promotional activities of the organization can be increased to reach more and more customers which can help in the improvement of the operations. This improvement will provide opportunities for my growth in this sector. The growth of the organization of which I am a major part will assist me in my growth related activities. The company can also plan to increase its social media based activities so that it is able to create contacts with the customers and increase their loyalty by understanding their needs and demands (Michael, Storey & Thomas, 2017). The increase of customer reach will help me to interact with different kinds of people and further increase my knowledge in the process. This knowledge will be helpful for me to increase my opportunities in the future. The vast retail market in the emerging economies and the developing countries is a big opportunity for the growth and expansion of Woolworths.

Threats – The discounting related wars that are being faced by Woolworths in the retail market are a threat to the revenues and the profitability of the company. The loss of the customers faced by Woolworths in the financial year 2014 has also caused huge pressure on the revenues. The aggressive growth of Aldi and Coles has caused issues in the revenues and profitability of Woolworths in the Australian retail market (Morschett, Schramm-Klein & Zentes, 2015). The lack of the revenues of the organization in which I am working has caused an increase in the stress and pressure that I face. The slow speed of growth that has been detected in the retail market of Australia is major threat to the operations of the company. This threat will also affect my future plans related to my career. The slow growth of the Australian market can be a major threat to the sustainable operations of Woolworths in the country. This will affect my career growth in the retail sector of Australia as the organization will not be able to grow fast.

Threats

Diversity is related to the view which brings potential benefits which can outweigh organizational drawbacks and the costs that are incurred. Diversity further leads to deeper levels of innovation in the organizations. The creativity levels of the organization and the employees can also be increased with the help of diversity. The diverse workplaces have the ability to make fast decisions and gain access to the top levels of talent that is available in the industry. The organizations however need to adhere to the diversity related laws so that the workforce can be managed in an effective manner (Trigeorgis & Reuer, 2017). The various arguments that are made based on diversity in the organizations include, availability of the talent, enhancement of interpersonal innovation, appealing to the global base of customers and avoiding risk. The business case related to diversity is based on the view that diversity related activities of an organization brings many benefits. The major advantages that can be gained by an organization with the help of diversity include, improved methods of problem-solving, greater levels of innovation and creativity which further lead to the enhancement of the product development process (Wheelen et al., 2017).

Diversity in an organization can be seen as a strength as the diverse teams can provide vast pool of talent for solving the various issues with the help of creative ideas. The different opinions can provide various options to the management of the organization regarding the process related to effective problem-solving. The diverse type of workforce is able to understand the various demographics that are related to the global marketplace of consumers. The emerging markets of the developing countries are also benefitted by the diversity in the different organizations. The diverse organizations are also able to adapt to the technological and the cultural environment of the various countries in which they have their global operations (Trigeorgis & Reuer, 2017).

The focus on diversity of the organizations can be considered as an opportunity for the proper management of the various operations. Diversity is able to provide huge opportunities to the organizations to operate in an effective manner in the global business environment.

My personal experience in my university is also related to a diverse area where different types of students are present from diverse backgrounds and different countries. This has helped me to interact in an effective manner with the people belonging to diverse backgrounds.

The better understanding of diversity can help the management in making proper use of the different opinions and ideas that are provided to the organization. This can help them in operating in a profitable manner in the global operations where they have to deal with customers belonging to diverse areas.

From the analysis of Woolworths in the Assessment One I can say that see my future career opportunities in the organization. The huge opportunities that are related to the growth of the retail market and the expansion of Woolworths are the major reasons for my decision to join the company in the future. My future plans with Woolworths will help me in starting my career in an effective manner. The brand value that has been gained by Woolworths will be helpful in my future career related decisions.

Conclusion

The discussion can be concluded by stating that Woolworths can prove to be a good choice for starting my career as the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are related to the operations of the company are linked with my personal SWOT analysis. The diversity related activities can also be helpful for me to improve my career related opportunities. The positive effects of diversity have been discussed in the analysis and it has proved that the organizations can implement diversity for the purpose of increasing its collaboration in the global environment. I have thereby found myself fit for the organization so that I am able to increase my future opportunities and develop my future career goals

References

Durand, R., Grant, R. M., & Madsen, T. L. (2017). The expanding domain of strategic management research and the quest for integration. Strategic Management Journal, 38(1), 4-16.

Frynas, J. G., & Mellahi, K. (2015). Global strategic management. Oxford University Press, USA.

Gamble, J., & Thompson, A. A. (2014). Essentials of strategic management. Irwin Mcgraw-Hill.

Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., & Schilling, M. A. (2014). Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning.

Meyer, G. D., Neck, H. M., & Meeks, M. D. (2017). The entrepreneurship?strategic management interface. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset, 17-44.

Michael, S., Storey, D., & Thomas, H. (2017). Discovery and coordination in strategic management and entrepreneurship. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset, 45-65.

Morschett, D., Schramm-Klein, H., & Zentes, J. (2015). Strategic international management (pp. 978-3658078836). Springer.

Trigeorgis, L., & Reuer, J. J. (2017). Real options theory in strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 38(1), 42-63.

Wheelen, T. L., Hunger, J. D., Hoffman, A. N., & Bamford, C. E. (2017). Strategic management and business policy. pearson.

Woolworths.com.au. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.woolworths.com.au/