Taking Sides Case Analysis One – Avon Products, Inc.: Essay

This paper seeks to review the five phases and other key elements and outcome expectations with the purpose of providing clarity to the organizational focus. It then demonstrates some of the implications and accomplishments

"Strategic management is a set of managerial decisions and actions that determine the long-run performance of a corporation" (Wheelen & Hunger, 2006, p.3). The benefits of strategic management helps the firm focus on the objectives and develop the steps involved in obtaining the vision and financial wealth of the organization. An effective strategic management plan should include the following three questions: (1) Where is the organization now? (2) If no changes are

What Is Strategic Management a process for defining and addressing the management implications of an organization's strategic and operational plans? A long-term context for short-term activities. Strategic management is the analysis of the work done by the management of an organization on behalf of the owners. It gyrates around expressing the purposes of the organization and coming up with an appropriate mission and vision statement. Mission and vision statement together are used to help develop policies and plans to be used in long term and short term goals often categorized as projects or programs. It also involves the right resources of management to ensure that the business profit are maximized to grow the company. Strategic Competitiveness

Avon Corporation In order to begin to understand the industry in which Avon functions as well as the specifics around the introduction of the new EAS drive, I used the 5Cs analysis to outline the company’s current situation. Situation Analysis via the 5Cs:

Andrea Jung displayed various leadership styles. “Authentic leadership emphasizes the importance of a leader’s self-awareness”. (Nahavandi 2015) Jung believed that in order to change Avon she would have to change herself first. Transactional leadership is when followers are given rewards and incentives for exceptional job performance. These monetary gifts/bonuses are used to inspire the follower. Jung displayed components of this leadership style by increasing the incentives, compensating for mileage and providing online training to independent salespeople. Jung’s leadership style showed facets of the transformational style. She was charismatic, smart, and considerate. She utilized these skills and characteristics to propel Avon’s sales nearly

The strategic management is actually defined as the process in which an organization actually formats and also implements the plans which espouse the objectives and goals of that organization (Diana Wicks, 2011). The process of the strategic management is continuous and it changes with the evolution of the organizational goals and objectives.

Under the direction of the new CEO, a new strategy was developed to reinvent Avon's image, improve customer satisfaction, and to increase profit margins and market share. Avon has gained an outstanding reputation as the best direct seller of beauty products. Through the continued efforts and achievements of its sales representatives, Avon is now known worldwide. Avon's core competence has mainly been its direct selling busniess model.

In addition, her strategy also makes Avon in a state of competition with other mass-market companies, but Avon did not have that capacity. For Jung, her high-end products line should be fit the situation, but in fact, in the specific implementation process, the strategy’s effect is discounted too much because they spend more money and time on the product and new marketing, but ignore their main customers-women.

This paper aims to present the two sides of the grand strategy by Avon in increasing its sales through the expansion of its distribution and capturing a large market in the industry. Avon Products, Inc. is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products, including skin-care, hair care, color cosmetics, fragrances, personal hygiene, and a limited line of non-personal care products such as jewelry, apparel, decorative and home entertainment products and a provider of spa services. The company distributed its products primarily through the direct selling channel. It was considered the world 's largest direct seller of affordable quality beauty products.

Analyzing Jung’s leadership style and Field’s contingency model, we can see that Jung’s style is a leadership that goes well inside Avon. Jung said that Avon is a company that has the same values as her and that even if she would not had taken the top position inside Avon, she would still had stayed in Avon. Therefore, the environment that Avon created was

Strategic management is the process where leaders establish an organization’s long-term direction, set the specific performance objectives, develop strategies to achieve these objectives in the light of all external and internal changes, and undertake effective strategies to manage these changes and execute action plans.

Over the past few years, Avon’s stock and net income has declined as a result of misplaced focus in different areas throughout the company. Under the former CEO, Andrea Jung, the company had an internal focus, was expanding too fast, and failed to recognize the needs of consumers in different markets. Under the new CEO, Avon is improving by focusing more on sales representatives, cutting jobs, reducing spending, and pulling out of failing markets. Additionally, they are incorporating information systems and social media as selling tools, catering to individual markets, and foregoing other growth areas until the core business is stable. With these improvements, Avon expects that it will see a turnaround in the coming years.

I provided coaching in respect of marketing for Seymours Solicitors, on behalf of a firm of business consultants, with funding from GrowthAccerator. I worked with two of the partners, Tarsem Sangham and Gina Dixon, from 20th February 2015 for 7 days (delivered as half days, over a period of 4 months). While being responsible for strategy, planning and implementation where it was appropriate, I spent time with them to find out about their firm in great detail - their goals, drivers and aspirations. Where it was appropriate I coached them in how to implement the marketing practices that we had discussed. They were so pleased with my support that they have continued to employ me 1 day per month ever since.

IT is an essential method for Avon to control the operation, sell the product and train its employers. In developing areas, IT can help organize orders, distribute orders, promote products and brand. Also it’s not possible to have representatives every areas to provide door-to-door services, IT will help to increase sales, increase efficiency and reduce cost. For training its representatives, IT will also be efficient. Instead of gather every representative in the office, Avon can upload teaching seminar videos online, so representative can get the training at home. Also Avon can use on-line facetime to hold sales meeting, so manager can know about each one’s sales situation and control them.

Strategic planning involves making decisions about the organization’s long-term goals and strategies and how the organization decides to implement their goals (Bateman, Snell, Konopaske, pg. 113). Strategies help organizations to have a clear perspective on how to go about accomplishing the goals they have in place. All organizations have a clear vision of what their mission and purpose as a company is, they know how to fulfill the mission, vision, and purpose and they know how to ensure that they accomplish all their goals. However, the route the organization takes to define these things determines how effective they will be.