Executive Summary
JM Smuckers is a public limited company which was established in 1897 within the United States Sauces and Condiments industry. The organization is keen on implementing a strategy that will help it increase revenue and expand its market. This strategy will include the introduction of such diverse consumer products as coffee, the introduction of the concept of corporate social responsibility, and a venture into new markets. The mission and vision statements of the organization acts as a guiding concept for what the organization is trying to become. The organization just like other organizations has its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The system, structure, people, and culture in the organization are all important in achieving success. These components are critical for the implementation of the strategy. Proper implementation of the strategy will ensure that the organization meets its mission. Implementation of the strategy will help the organization acquire economic growth.
Introduction
Strategy implementation addresses a full range of managerial activities where a chosen strategy is put into place. The management in an organization supervises the pursuit of a strategy so that the targeted results can be achieved. JM Smuckers is a public limited company which was established in 1897 within the United States Sauces and Condiments industry. This paper will seek to review the organization’s mission, vision, SWOT analysis, and choice of available strategies to enable the organization to achieve its competitive advantage and increase profits. The paper will discuss the organization’s structure, systems, people, and culture. The JM Smuckers organizational design, key strategic control systems, primary people concerns, and cultural factors that have a direct effect on strategy implementation will also be discussed in this paper. Finally, the paper will seek to analyze the fit between the organization’s mission, strategy, and organizational components critical to implementation.
Review of Mission, Vision, SWOT, Strategy, and Strategic Choices
The management at JM Smuckers is committed towards owning and marketing diverse and quality food brands. This mission has helped the organization to be in its current position (Jeffrey, 2007, para.5). It has always acted as a guiding concept for what the organization is to become. The vision of the organization is to become the best supplier of various brands of food products both at the domestic and international markets. It also acts as a guiding concept for what the organization is trying to do and become. JM Smuckers Strengths include the ability to provide original quality products to its consumers, generation of employment opportunities, and extensive research that allows for quick introduction of new products that provide customer satisfaction. The major threats to JM Smuckers include competition from similar products by such organizations as Unilever, Kraft Foods, and Conagra, and unfavorable government rules and inflationary prices of food products. The weaknesses include the organization’s inability to expand outside the U.S market, risk of food contamination, and high costs of food products. The opportunities available for JM Smuckers include careful acquisition of other companies through merging, growing demand for less sugar and low fat products and products that can explore in the restaurant sector.
JM Smuckers has come up with a strategy that can help it increase revenue and expand its market. The first strategy is to venture into the production of diverse consumer products such as coffee. This will enable the organization to increase profits and provide customer satisfaction. Incorporation of the concept of corporate social responsibility will allow the organization to make a good public image (Abrahams, 2007, para. 7). This will in turn increase customer loyalty and increase profits since more customers will buy products from the organizations. All products produced must be of high and original quality to always provide satisfaction to consumers. Consumers will always get value for their money when they buy original products. Venturing into the international markets will allow the organization increase its market for products and eventually increase profits. The strategic choices available for JM Smuckers include the niche focus strategy and the cost leadership strategy.
The Structure of JM Smuckers
Organizational structure at JM Smuckers is designed in a way that employees in the organization work in departments (Daft, 2007, p.26). There is a group of the top management that manages all the activities in the organization. Each department has directors that ensure that the activities in the department are carried out effectively. Project coordinators work closely with employees so that the quality of production is the best (Fritz, 1996. p.112). Decision making in the organization is decentralized where a department can make a decision that can help it enhance its operation at the operational level. Different teams, committees, and workforces in the organization work on different products. Teams are formed to address certain issues in the organization. They work towards improving products, services, processes, and relationships. They also do the work in the organization.
Systems at JM Smuckers
At JM Smuckers, budgets are set by implementing budgeting and accounting systems. Finances are used to document the objectives and goals in the organization (Dropkin, Jim & Touche, 2007, p.56). The management in the organization plans for the future by forecasting and making assumptions about the future of the external environment. Employees and activities are then evaluated to determine their performance and improve on the performance so that the activities are fulfilled effectively and efficiently.
People at JM Smuckers
The organization has many employees who are sufficient for the work in it. The employees undergo a thorough recruitment process before they are absorbed into the organization (Noe, 2004, p.16). Those who succeed undergo proper training and orientation to ensure that they have the necessary skills (Katzenbach & Douglas, 1993. p.63). The management in the organization has motivation programs for employees. The employees that greatly contribute to the success of the organization are rewarded so that they can continue working hard and challenge the others. The employees have a positive attitude towards the organization and their jobs making them satisfied.
Culture at JM Smuckers
The management in the organization encourages behavior that increases the competitive advantage of the organization. The behaviors of employees in the organization help is satisfying customers especially the way that customers are served. Consumers interact with employees freely without fear. The employees’ behavior is directed towards the vision of the organization (Kirst-Ashman, 2008, p.18).
Fit between Organization’s Mission, Strategy, and Organizational Components Critical to Implementation
The mission of the organization is to own and market diverse and quality food brands. The first strategy that will help meet this mission is the diverse consumer framework. The organization plans to introduce diverse consumer products such as coffee. This will increase the diversity of brands offered. Production of quality products is a major factor in the organization. This implies that the products that will be produced will be of high quality whether they are new or the usual ones. Corporate social responsibility will increase customer loyalty to the brands by the organization. Many consumers would like to be associated with the products and this will increase the market for the products. The organization also plans to venture into new markets globally. This will increase the market for the product. All these strategies are helping in meeting the organization’s mission. The employees in the organization are a critical component to implementation of strategy. The employees are the ones who will produce the new consumer products that are expected to satisfy the consumers. The image of the organization will also depend on the behaviors of employees in the organization. A good culture will increase customer loyalty to the organizations. The structure of the organization will help in production of quality products in that employees in different departments will be allowed to make decisions that increase customer satisfaction.
Conclusion
JM Smuckers has a strategy that it plans to implement so that it increases revenue and expands market for its products. The strategies that the organization wishes to implement include the introduction of diverse consumer products such as coffee, the concept of corporate social responsibility, and venture into new markets globally. The two strategic choices available for JM Smuckers include the niche focus strategy and the cost leadership strategy. The mission of the organization is to own and market diverse and quality food brands. Employees in the organization work in different departments and the departments are allowed to make decisions that will improve the quality of products. Budgets are set by implementation of budgeting and accounting systems. The employees in the organization are a crucial factor because they determine the quality of products. The behavior of employees increases the competitive advantage of the organization. The components in the organization are crucial for the implementation of the strategy. These components enable for efficient implementation of strategy that allows the organization to meet its organizational goals.
Reference
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Noe, R. A. (2004). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. New York: Wiley.