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Sports Direct SWOT and Organisational Analysis

Paper Type: Free Essay Subject: Business
Wordcount: 2481 words Published: 18th Apr 2019

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Introduction

In the evolving market today, it is necessary for an organization to be unique if it desires sustainability. It is important for an organization to develop such missions and policies which assist in the progression of an organization and to bring their theories into practice (Gottlieb, 2007). The most effective way to do that is by implementing methods that aim to bring change. The report is focused on what strategies are adapted by an organization for the live up to its requirements and accomplish its missions. The organization which is enlightened in this report is the SportDirect.com, this British sports goods Retailer was established in 1982 by Michael James Wallace commonly known as Mike.

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The report highlights the concepts of transferable skills and how they are important to be implemented for the fulfilment of organization’s missions. Furthermore, the report is based on the values, mission statement, strategies and aims and objectives of the organization SportsDirect.com. The company is currently operating worldwide and has 670 store across the globe, 470 of which are only operating in the UK. The clothes and accessories that the company trades and offers are all related to sports. The report also focuses on the customer expectations regarding this organization and what role do the employees play in it.

Literature Review

According to Gottlieb (2006) the steps that can help an organization to evolve and add value to their products is by planning the goals that are to be achieved, plan out the target market, engage with the known and unknown people for the recognition of brand, create plans and strategies to implement and by supervising progress and upholding the relations with stakeholders. It must be the core strategy of an organization to add value to their products which can be done by being in good terms with the community (Barnes, 2001). It is believed by Gottlieb and Panepento (2008) that when an organization is motivated to achieve its targets, it strives to make its vision and mission statement strong and is able to do more with less when faced with the hard times.

Customer Analysis

Customer identification is very important for a business. By identifying who are their customers, a company can easily then advertises their products accordingly. With the help of knowing their targeted people, Sportsdirect.com can be able to only channel their products to them. Selling sports gear and items such as trainers for runners shows that their target customers will be people either into sportswear, sports, health and fitness as well as casual wear.

The chief focus of an organization must be to satisfy its customer’s need and to find out different ways to attract the customers (Zeithaml et al., 2006). The company SportsDirect.com has never been much able to fulfil the desires of its customers. Providing best customer services has never been the focus of the company. The employees there look just as confused as the customers. The company has lack of order in the workplace which does not satisfy the people as they come to shop for the relaxation of mind and to get what they desire but after taking in the disturbed service it all goes away (Wallop, 2015). It has also been in the lists of complaints by the customers that there wasn’t even any a place to sit in the shoe area making everyone think how to try the trainers they want? (Portas, 2013)

Apart from all these issues that the Sports Direct possesses, the main thing that satisfies the customers at maximum and makes them ignore all the negative parts is that the company offers the expensive brands in lowest possible price which is satisfactory for the customers. According to Ojasalo (2001) managing of customer’s expectations in the professional area is the main duty of the workers and it is the main task of the managers to spread awareness regarding customer satisfaction in the workplace.

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis is used to thoroughly detect the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats to determine the situation of an organization. By this internal analysis the company can focus on its internal operations and functions and come up with new ideas to progress.

Strengths 

The strengths of the company Sports Direct include the wide network of stores all over the world. It is a liable brand which has been operating over decades. The company has tied up with the most famous brands as Adidas, Reebok and Nike which is one of a solid strength. The staff in Sports Direct tends to stay put with the organization because the get paid with high bonuses and gets additional benefit.  

Weaknesses

The slow growth in market share is one of the most notable weakness of the company. The company has always been working in low profit margins which can have a great effect on the future profitability. The lack of customer dealing skills in workers within the organization is also a potential weakness by which an organization can face great loss in profitability and competitive advantage. 

Opportunities

The company tends to acquire brands across Europe which is a great opportunity in order to reach more customers. The increasing economic problems in Europe provide an opportunity to Sports Direct to lay its foundation in Western and Eastern Europe. It is chiefly important for the brand to expand because the stores in UK have been settled for over decades which gives it a broad opportunity to reach out for more customers in different countries and attract the brand conscious customers so that the company can be stable and sustained. 

Threats

The functioning of the company can be affected by the continuously fluctuating policies in Europe. The evolution in technology is also causing problems for the company and more advancement in it can be a potential threat for the company. If advanced technology is used by the rivals of Sports Direct, it can be a great threat to its progress.

Employee Roles and Responsibilities

The employees roles and responsibilities matters the most for the functioning of an organization. The moods and expectations of the customers depend upon the attitudes of the employees. If the employees work responsibly with the role they are allocated with then there would be lesser problems relating to customers in the workplace. The employees in Sports Direct are famous for their confused behavior, though the customers are attracted to the cheaper prices of the desired brands but also get disappointed by the employee behavior towards them. The company provides flexible working hours to the employees. The Sports Direct has been striving to change the policies related to employment. It is important to recognize the needs of the employees so that they can concentrate more on their roles and responsibilities towards the company.

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Training and Development programs in organizations

Training and development programs provide opportunities to the organizations to train the minds of employees according to their targets and missions (Noe, 2002). If the employees are trained according to the intensity of desired goals of the organization they can live up to the expectations of the organization and this can result in better performance. Most of the employees that apply to work in organizations aren’t much aware of what the organization is targeting at, the fresh and young employees lack workplace skills which are important to be delivered to them. By the help of training and development programs the company can bring each and every employee to the same level of intellect.

The idea of training and development in an organization shows the workers that they are valuable which motivates them to participate actively in these programs consequently creating workplace a better environment to work in (Noe, 2002). Staff members should have exposure the information related to the safety, administration etc. When a training program is properly structured it helps an organization to operate comprehensively (Jehanzeb and Bashir, 2013). The workers in an organization must be treated as valuable assets and the managers must know how to deal with them and take the required work from them. Thus, the training and development programs have a great value towards organizations which the company must invest in.

Customer Service Assistant

The primary point of interaction between the customers and the firm is through the customer service assistant. The first person that the customer communicates and gets interacted is the customer service assistant which gives out information about the brands on sale by the company. The customers approach these assistants in order to get advices, information relating the brands and products, to complain or return any purchased item. This job is done in person, online or by telephonic contact.

The customer service assistants provide online help to the customers who demand it while making purchases. The main role of this job is to handle the complaints by the customers it is a great responsibility to thoroughly go through the complaints and try to resolve it or transfer it to the responsible area. It is important the customer service assistant listens to the issues calmly and don’t react in a harsh way either on phone, online or in face as a bad behavior can be an element of destruction for the company’s image and reputation. In Sports Direct, the role and duty of the customer service assistant is quite hard, they are ought to carry out a lot of work because the managers there are quite skilled and knows how to make employees work (Wallop, 2015). Though the customer’s assistants of this company have observed to be as confused as the customers but they do have patience and politeness in their attitudes (Portas, 2013). In some companies it is important to note down and make a report of the very own activities performed all day, this helps in the supervising of both the person on job and the progress of the company.

The skills that are required to be a good customer service assistant includes being polite with the customers, being capable of handling the sudden situations and ability resolving issues rapidly so that the customers don’t have to wait. Further, the person must be aware of the information technology and administrative skills in order to carry out the tasks which are to be done using online services. Also, the person has to be attentive and have good customer service skills.

Recommendation

Further are the recommendations for the company to focus on in order to address the weaknesses and threats. By focusing on the recommendations Sports Direct can easily gain competitive advantage. Firstly, the company must focus on the training and development programs and invest in this area in order to deliver the aims and targets of the company to the employees so that each of them would have similar skills and can deliver efficient work. Secondly, the company must focus upon expanding more outside the Europe due to the increasing issues in its economy the company is facing loss in market share. Furthermore, the company must consider increasing the wages of the customer’s service assistants so that they would be motivated to work hard and strive for the progression of the company. It is also necessary for the company to arrange sitting areas in the shoe department in most of the stores so that people would not complain about the absence of place to sit and try shoes on.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the company must thrive to overcome its weaknesses and threats in order to rise as an exceptional brand. Sports Direct must establish itself and evaluate exceptional strategies address the issues in the workplace. If the company focuses on the training and develop program more it can acquire sustainability. The stability for the company lies within the strategies it implements for its success. Thus, the theories and policies of the company must be brought to practice so that this could result in excess profitability and be a way to achieve competitive advantage as well. Sports Direct can achieve its motives by focusing on the recommended ideas.

References

  • Barnes, J.G., 2001. Secrets of customer relationship management: It’s all about how you make them feel. McGraw-Hill Companies.
  • Gottlieb, H. and Panepento, P., 2008. Doing More With Less in Hard Times. The Chronicle of Philanthropy
  • Gottlieb, H., 2003. Founders’ Syndrome? Who Me. Internet: http://www. help4nonprofits. com/NP_Bd_FoundersSyndrome_Art. htm7, p.2009.
  • Gottlieb, H., 2006. Introduction to community engagement. Community-Driven Institute Library.
  • Gottlieb, H., 2007. 3 statements that can change the world: mission/vision/values. 3 Statements That Can Change the World: Mission/Vision/Values.
  • Jehanzeb, K. and Bashir, N.A., 2013. Training and development program and its benefits to employee and organization: A conceptual study. Training and Development5(2).
  • Noe, R.A., 2002. Employee training and development.
  • Ojasalo, J., 2001. Managing customer expectations in professional services. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal11(3), pp.200-212.
  • Portas. M. 2013. Mary Portas visits Sports Direct. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/mary-portas/9987818/Mary-Portas-visits-Sports-Direct.html. [Accessed 29 March 2017].
  • Ulrich, D., 2013. Human resource champions: The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Harvard Business Press.
  • Wallop. H. 2015. The Secrets of Sports Direct review: along with cheap trainers, Sports Direct is also known for its giant mugs – the customers. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/apr/28/the-secrets-of-sports-direct-review. [Accessed 29 March 2017].
  • Zeithaml, V.A., Bitner, M.J. and Gremler, D.D., 2006. Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm.

 

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