Customer Proctor Gamble
Organizational Culture Part 2
Wal-Mart was Proctor and Gambles forth largest customer at one time conducting business of 400 million; yet Wal-Mart had a negative gross margin using Proctor and Gambles products. Once determining the reason for the failure a multifunctional team concluded that P&G was running as two separate companies if viewed internally and externally. Internally the company can be considered strategic; externally the company is characterized as tactical with competition between the divisions (Wal-Mart and Sam's club). The policies are conflicting and there is a lack of understanding of customer's systems. The multinational team recommends that P&G use the same management principles which gave the company success externally, “one could expect more positive alignment of systems and a business relationship that was simpler, more flexible, and more profitable for both parties (Proctor and Gamble, no date).
Reference:
Proctor & Gamble. (n.d.). Overview of the Two Companies. Retrieved September 7, 2008,
from http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/Courses/aem220/1998site/p&g.html
Proctor and Gamble is defined as being a company of ethics due to the careful manner in which new innovations are introduced to consumers. The corporations motto of “Touching lives, Improving Life”, has taken the world by supplying goods for about every aspect of life. Proctor and Gamble does not deal directly with the consumer on a one-on-one basis, In order for employees to provide the best customer service available the process begins internally.
When producing new products creativity is a must but employees need to be able to place themselves in the customer's shoes. By providing products in other countries other than the United States, values and culture has to be studied in order to provide the best customer service. Good customer service is a responsibility of everyone involved beginning from the top of the organizations to those who sale the products. The first step to remember is that customer service is a form of service. A good rule for the sales associate and the employees manufacturing the product to remember is, his/her life has more meaning when providing a service to others. So with this concept in mind there will be extra steps in ensuring that the product is developed with care.
Since Proctor and Gamble deals with the customer behind the scene conducting surveys by using the internet is a way to see what the customer feels about the possible introduction of a new item. For example, a couple of years ago M&M Candy Company wanted to introduce a new color, giving the privilege of letting the consumer vote on the new color produced the purple M&M.
Most of the changes that occur at P&G are from the corporate level, in order to better serve the customer employees should be allowed to submit ideas about what they believe the customer wants. This will allow the employee to feel more involved, especially since they are consumers themselves. “According to Delphi Group study (as cited in Qu's 2001) “Nearly 88% of a company's knowledge resides in the minds of its employees. But most companies lack an efficient system that enables them to tap into that knowledge in ways that provide a strong return on investment” (Gunu, O. M., 2008).
Reference:
Gunu, O. M. (2008). How Proctor and Gamble Survived through Innovation - A Case
Study. Retrieved September 07, 2008, from
http://knol.google.com/k/osman-masahudu-gunu/how-procter-and-gamble-survived-through/1kietb77pgwru/8?locale=en#
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