Improving Efficiency And Effectiveness Of A Business Essays

Improving Efficiency And Effectiveness Of A Business CONTENTS Section 1 1. INTRODUCTION 2. COMPANY PROFILE Section 2 3. SWOT ANALYSIS Issues to be taken under cosideration 4. THE PROBLEM(S) 5. OPTIONS ? INCREASING EFFECTIVENESS a)Addressinng Local Lecturers b)Establishing new Services 6. EVALUATION-RECOMMENDATIONS 7. SUMMARY 8. BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES Introduction All successful businesses owe their existence to the recognition and existence of a market opportunity. It is essential therefore for organizations to continue identifying possible market opportunities in order to develop, expand and compete in the fierce business environment of our era. This entails constant information of the organization's position and the market environment in which it operates. Kotler (though Baker 1996) argues that a structured analysis should be undertaken based on the following questions: ? Diagnosis : where is the company now and why? ? Prognosis : where is the company headed? ? Objectives: where should the company be headed? ? Strategy : what is the best way to get there? ? Tactics : what specific actions should be undertaken, by whom and when ? Control : what measures should be watched to indicate whether the company is Succeeding? (Baker, 1996, Marketing, p.52) All companies need strategies to meet changing markets. Marketing plays an important role in strategic planning. It provides information and other inputs to help prepare the strategic plan. Strategic planning, according to Kotler, Armstrong, Sauders and Wong (1996) is also the first stage of marketing planning and defines marketing's role in the organization. ?The strategic plan guides marketing, which must work with other departments in the organization to achieve strategic objectives?. (Principles of Marketing, p.70). The above analysts focus on three steps/stages of strategic market planning :a) the strategic plan and its implications for marketing; b) the marketing process; and c) ways of putting the plan into action. Strategic planning, or finding out the strategic position of a company is essential towards the marketing plan. This will guide the formation of measurable corporate objectives. An audit then gathers information on the company, its competitors, its market and the general environment in which the firms operate. A SWOT analysis gives a summary of the strengths, and weaknesses of the company together with the opportunities and threats if faces. Next, decisions are made on what services/products are best for the company and how much support to give each one, and suggestions about the possibility of market segmentation and targets facing the organization are done. This paper attempts to apply the above for ?Global Training? in Athens in order to identify possible problems and aim to find certain solutions. 2.COMPANY'S PROFILE Intercollege Global Training Athens is a company offering educational services and specifically training in the field of ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, U.K.) The training program for students coming from a variety of industries leads them to take the world-wide examination for every course in Greece in coordination with the British Council and the British Chamber of Commerce. The company was officially established in the year 2000, however was operating through cooperation with Universities and companies in Greece since 1996. The central offices are located in Cyprus and branches, apart form Greece, exist in Bulgaria, Leetonia, Poland, Oman and Dubai. In 1996 the company began cooperation from Cyprus with leading Audit Firms such as Price Waterhouse Coopers, Deloitte and Touche, KPMG, and Ernst and Young, for in-house training focusing on individuals who wanted to receive the professional degree of ACCA. In 1998, Eurobank and ALPHA Bank joined the scheme and in 1999 an office was opened to offer the program to individuals who could join the groups at the locations of these companies and in order to form separate groups for the public needs. In a few words, recruitment was done based on a market plan and groups were formed for ?walk-ins? which were trained at various Universities, with lecturers who were specialized from the central office in Cyprus. The growth of numbers/enrolment forced the central office to form a branch in Athens and all training is done at the new company's premises for all courses leading to examinations of the ACCA scheme. At this point, over 120 students are enrolled for ACCA examination at Global Training Athens and the company's position calls for strategic market planning for its services. How could additional students enroll? Does the company's position imply expansion based on the growth of numbers? How was the