There are a number of symptoms that could spell impending doom for a business. However, I think three important ones that all businesses should look out for are:
- Firm’s product perceived as being relatively substandard
- Company slow to introduce new products in a fast changing environment
- Company does not have much product variety compared to competition
In my operation management classes we've had countless conversations about the 3C's in business. They are Customer, Change and Competition. A business that fails to account for each of these when forming their strategy will soon find themselves out of business. The reasons for this are somewhat straight forward.
If customers perceive that your product/service is substandard why would they come to you? Furthermore, what are you as a business doing (or not doing) that is giving your customers this negative perception about your company?
The world is changing rapidly. Globalization and the internet are bringing the world closer together than ever before. If your company cannot keep up or adapt, it will be hard to continue to grow your business. Customer needs change all the time. The way they shop, talk, entertain themselves. As a business you need to come out with new products or enhance your service in a way that drives home the point that your business has it going on.
Which leads me to my third point. Your competition is dealing with the same issues that you are, and in the global market your competition is everywhere. An inability to compete with products or services that offer the quality and flexibility your customers expect will push them right into your competitions arms. If you've developed a neat gadget or hit upon a niche group that likes your way of doing business congratulations. Just don't rest on your laurels. Continuous improvement is the key to long term success.
So where does this all leave our local library? Well they have a lot of work to do to change the minds of their customers. They have yet to truly embrace modern technology. No one seems interested in going to the library for research (based on personal observations in school). Instead they go to cafes, Barnes & Noble, or the park, with their wireless laptops to have a quiet place to work. Why not remind customers that you always have a quiet place to work at when you're in the library. Furthermore, if you happen to find a book you do like, you can borrow it for free!
You would think this is the kind of thing politicians would be clamouring over to bring into their districts. However, it doesn't seem to be the case. Whether that's because the municipalities are clueless or broke (or both) is another story all together. The world is moving away from desktop computers and into wireless technology. Every library should provide wireless access to its customers for free or a marginal charge. Start from there and rebuild the perception of value that libraries used to have within their community. Otherwise the only thing people will know about libraries is they used to hold encyclopedias...cited from Wikipedia of course.
5 comments:
I just wanted to say that really adressed the assignment in whole as supposed to. You took time to introduce and then cite the symptoms of the company you will be discussing, and the responses were perfect.
Great job
Your blog entries are always entertaining, and they admirably address the core issues sufficiently. Though I struggle to see public libraries as competitive businesses, I do however acknowledge that this posting highlights how strategic management is relevant in more than one context.
Joshua,
This is a very interesting blog entry, on an industry that I have never thought about, to be frank.
Libraries do cater to a specific community, and we (students) are probably the largest segment of that community. Today it is much easier with the usage of the internet that has most of the sources that are needed. It is much easier to access and at anytime, but there is still a need for these libraries.
This is a place where you know you can find professional help that can make your research easier and quicker. This is a place where you can find peace and quiet to maximize productivity.
Hi Josh,
1. Why are you fighting MrBiv?
2. I was wondering what are you thoughts on paperless companies and how that should apply to libraries.
Would I be wrong to state that paper becomes more and more expensive and that the digital age makes it more accessible to view, edit and send documents without the need to take the time and effort to budge from your office/home.
Ami
Hi guys,
As always, thanks for your comments. I'll try my best to answer each one.
Honore - Thanks. I usually add a lot of cool pics and videos to my posts as well, but I thought it'd be cool to go without this time. Sort of an ode to the tired library. My future postings will be similar in style to my previous ones. I'm glad you liked it just the same.
M.O. - Thanks for the consistent comments. I always appreciate your thoughts. I think the reason why many people see libraries as not being competitive has to do with the perception people have of libraries. Whether we work in a For Profit or Not For Profit organization, as future business managers, we need to take our customers perception into account at all times, because we're in business to serve them.
Yonatan - These were my points exactly. By reminding their community that they are still around and offering services that the customers want, it will make libraries relavent again. The one thing libraries have over the internet is the human help when you're stumped on what keywords to enter into Google.
Ami - In my introductory blog entry I explain why I fight Mr. Biv. The name is an acronym for Mistakes, Rework, Breakdowns, Inefficiencies, and Variance. If you are having a problem in your company it is most likely because of one of these factors (if not more).
Your most precious resources are Manpower, Machines, Materials, Money, Minutes (time), and Methods. These are the 6M's of business management, and MR.BIV causes problems that wastes these resources. So by identifying and fighting MR.BIV anywhere I see him, I preserve and utilize my resources to peak performance.
To your second question, I've spent 8 years working in various companies that all wanted to go digital. You need to convince the user to use the electronic version over the hard copy because the problem is not with the technology it's with how users take advantage of the technology on hand. People want to feel like they can control what's in front of them, and looking at things on the screen for long periods of time can be tiresome as well. Furthermore, technology has made it so easy and cheap for customers to print things to take with them that it's almost an afterthought that they'll use it for just 1 hour and then toss it. Most people print things at work or the library because we don't want to pay for paper our self. =)
To further enhance it's perception and show it's customers that it can adapt, the library should take advantage of two new technologies that address the paperless age you describe Ami. First they should have copiers that allow you to scan the book pages, and email it to yourself. We have this technology at the job and it works great. It would make it more convenient for the person who doesn't have to borrow so many books, and the library saves a few bucks on paper and toner.
The second technology they should implement is these Xerox disappearing ink printers. You can check out the article here: http://www.smartplanet.com/news/business/10000206/xerox-develops-disappearing-ink-to-save-paper.htm
Again, it would save people the hassle of borrowing the book if they could make a copy of it to show someone else, and when they're done they could drop off the paper for reuse by the library. Just be sure to clearly mark which is which if you have both types of printers!
Anyway, thanks all for the comments. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
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