INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT
jjjBUSM4185B
Outdoor
Student Name: Pham Quang Anh
Student Number: s3924328
Title of Assignment: Case study analysis
Due date: 12th December 2021
Teacher Name: Antoine Goupille
Number of pages: 8
Word Count: 2029
Table Of Content
I. Case Analysis_______________________________________2
1. Newbie businessman__________________________________2
2. Deficient experience in recruitment______________________2
3. Lack of confidence in moving to the online
platform_________3
II. Solution___________________________________________4
1. Successful manager in life and
business___________________4
2. Excellent staff management____________________________4
3. The adaptation in e-commerce__________________________5
III. Recommendation___________________________________5
1. The great teamwork__________________________________5
2. Quality relationship__________________________________6
3. A clear view of the “Outdoor” store_____________________6
IV. Reference_________________________________________6
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I. CASE ANALYSIS: THE FAST-GROWTH
BUSINESS
Ngoc started her business based on the lack of outdoor sports equipment in her
hometown. She as a sports lover as well as an active member who is a member
of a club and she also had won many races in Vietnam which helped her a lot in
attracting customers. Her business earned numerous loyal customers by selling
high-quality outdoor sports equipment. Those factors have helped her business
grow rapidly, in a year the 60 square meter store upgraded into a 300 sqm three-
story shop. Thanks to the high profit of the business she can now open a new
extensive store located in Ho Chi Minh City. The short-term growth has some
drawbacks such as she crumbles in work and problems with staff.
1. Newbie businessman
Her poor management is proven by the point that she does not have time to
accompany her cousin in their hobby. She might be used to her small business at
first, however, when it grows up that fast, she can not be able to chase the
productivity of the company, then which leads to many problems starting to
emerge. She has to deal with all the administration work by herself because she
didn't receive any assistance from the team with her to lead the business.
2. Deficient experience in recruitment
She has had to do lots of replacement with her employees in the last 2 years is
because of that she does not know how or where to seek for good staff. Who fits
the position she needed, then when she actually found them she did not trust
them enough as well as earning their trust or giving them good reasons to stay.
The result is the staff shortage so that her business can not deal with a large
number of orders and requirements from their customers.
In this “Outdoor” case study, business’ marketing is not a problem beyond the
consumer word of mouth. However, the more people know about her business,
the more customers she has to serve and that could be a disaster. When the
store has not expanded, the number of customers is still at an average level, they
still have the ability to manage orders and requests well. There comes a time
when orders and requests are growing rapidly, Ruthie Bowles (2019) claimed
that she lacks the manpower to manage them and that leads to many unhappy
customers. Then from a fast-growing business to a rapidly declining business
with no loyal customers because of the bad responses, they have experienced
many times or even once.
The importance of trust between employer and employees has been shown in
the case study when non of her staff can represent her to receive the late
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delivery of high-value shipments nor letting them make any decisions but only
her, so there was no trust being traded. And another time is when her longest-
serving employee Mr. Bao quit for a better job opportunity. Mr.Bao has shown
that the employee’s treatment is on the important consideration list.
3. Lack of confidence in moving to the online platform
Due to the dynamic of e-commerce that customers can easily order and the
retailer can receive orders quickly, Ngoc has an idea about developing an online
retail activity. Because of the lack of time and unconfidence to delegate her
recruits, the project is still in the waiting line.
In case, if she starts to develop that online sales platform, she might face many
tougher decisions and problems than the start.
Firstly, in Cybersecurity, besides the basic policies of the platforms that the
business chose to sell on such as Shopee, Lazada, Tiki and so on, the
cyberattack is quite popular today. Victor Congionti, chief information officer and
co-founder at Proven Data (2021) stated that small businesses can not afford to
stop or slow down anything when facing cyberattacks because every bit of those
actions could affect the business badly. If the business does not handle the
problem thoroughly, it will involve customer service. This is not just a theory,
according to Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT), there
were 6,219 cyber attacks cases in Vietnam from the beginning of 2018 to July.
Secondly, the competitors is another concern for business that first move to the
online platform. It is not easy for Ngoc, the owner of a fast-growth business that
has not fully handled two physical stores. She has to “keep up with competitive
pricing, products and service” at the same time to be able to beat their
competitors.
Thirdly, the “the Amazon effect”, the over-expected Ngoc might have with her
business is possible as she witnessed the efficiency that Amazon has in their
business. The problem will become apparent when Ngoc can not get over the
bad comments and feedback about the service that customers receive from the
company every time something goes wrong as Ruthie Bowles (2019) has shown
in her podcast. That could negatively affect the owner-leader.
Lastly, e-commerce helps customers in reaching for what they want, however, it
also decreases the customer experience on products and services and that might
lead to a higher refund rate. "If you want your brand to stand tall, then customer
satisfaction should be the first priority, and whatever you're selling should be the
same as what's advertised," said Syed Ali Hasan, digital marketing manager at
Film Jackets. This means there will be more issues that the business owner, who
is already crumbled in work to deal with. That will affect business revenue
directly.
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II. SOLUTION
1. Successful manager in life and business
Having to make all the administrative decisions for her business herself may
have caused her to think and pay attention to too many things at once, which has
reduced her efficiency. Due to the fact that one day can not have more than 24
hours, in order to increase productivity and work efficiency, Ngoc must arrange
and focus on each problem one by one as Michelle mention in his statement.
Also making a list of the importance rate of business work could help her stay
focused
2. Excellent staff management
The information on the “Indeed for employers” website might be helpful for
“Outdoor” business.
As they said Ngoc should spend some time taking internally looks for any
employees that want to change or promotion because they might not fit their
position but another. That is from the inside, to seek good candidates from
outside the organization might be harder and need more work but it will help with
the staff shortage. Fortunately, many people are looking for jobs online on many
platforms like social media, Job seeking websites and so on, this can help
employers in general and Ngoc, in particular, find qualified and suitable people
for the vacant positions. Another traditional way is teaming up with universities,
colleges and even schools for students who are potential for the jobs.
Find them is the first step gain their trust is the next one, according to David
DeSteno, a professor of psychology at Northeastern University and the author of
The Truth About Trust, “trust is an “evolving thing that ebbs and flows,”. Also
from him: “Employees are more likely to follow through on goals set by a
manager they trust and to be more forthcoming about the challenges they see on
their level.”. The trust can be traded between employers and employees which
can make the business go further, faster, more sustainable on its journey. So
how to have trust within the organization? Getting to know each other to build a
better relationship, Ngoc should do something to make her employees trust and
think that she is “one of them” (Dougherty). She should share the stories about
the company, it could be about the directions or the goals to motivate them and
be trustful. Then they will be more willing to contribute harder in the business to
earn back her trust. That is how things work “trade”.
Trust is also a factor to keep good employees, others could be gifts, promotions
or just giving them chances to voice what is in their mind, It could be the thought
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about the work or ideas to improve their work in the organization. (James R.
Detert and Ethan Burris)
3. The adaptation in e-commerce
Victor Congionti said that “business owners need the proper cybersecurity
framework to keep data safe and secure while helping employees at the
company feel empowered and safe to implement policies and tech to combat
cyberattacks.” This is related to employee management because Ngoc has to
find someone who understands e-commerce and be able to protect her business.
Also, the trust that the owner can gain from and have in her employees and she
needs to be serious about the problem that her data could be attacked herself.
Being unique and having customer service along with the products that buyers
could only get from her store is how Ngoc can overcome the competitive pricing
as Calloway Cook, founder of Illuminate Labs.
To be able to get over the “Amazon effect”, Ngoc must clear her mind and
understand that everything has a beginning to not being depressed by the
comments or reviews from customers or the bad people who want to sabotage
her business.
Making the refund policy strict is one way but not always can be used to solve
the high refund rate problem. Base on the truth that Ngoc’s store sells high-
quality products so the only reason that customers want to refund is they do not
like to use them anymore. To solve this she needs a team of consultants on
outdoor sports to serve their customers and to know what they want exactly.
III. RECOMMENDATION
1. The great of teamwork
As we all know teamwork has a power that could help us to overcome almost
every situation in our life, business is not an exception. John J. Murphy, a
specialist in business transformation and author of Pulling Together: 10 Rules for
High-Performance Teamwork has said, “When we bring them to the table and
share them for a common purpose, it can give companies a real competitive
advantage.” As the importance of teamwork, which has been proven by science
(TRACY MIDDLETON, 2021), Ngoc needs to create a leadership department.
They might not just help her in leading the organization but also help her in many
aspects of life.
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2. Quality relationship
The relationship is not less important in business than teamwork but it comes
along with it. People in a team can together reach the same goals and good
relationships can help them on the team’s path. Ngoc is already close to her
cousin Vy, who has been working as a consultant since 2016 after a 4-year work
experience in Hong Kong. She can give Ngoc advice in her work as well as Ngoc
can help her cousin in some ways like giving Vy free equipment for her hobby. As
the “Outdoor” is expanding quickly, Ngoc will have the opportunity to reach out
for more useful relationships in her career. For example, if Ngoc has a problem
with the importing policy, a lawyer friend will be helpful.
And to have loyal customers, the business has to build a relationship with them
because they are never going to change their minds about the company even
when negative reviews about the products showed up.
3. A clear view of the “Outdoor” store
The fact is that many Vietnamese citizens know about Ngoc’s store through word
of mouth of the store’s customers. The business already has a great number of
consumers, however, if that is the only technique she uses to attract people
coming to her store, they will not be satisfied. Because they do not have a clear
view of what they are going to purchase before they come to the store or shop
online.
A good marketing strategy is required for the company to make customers happy
by letting them know which of the products or services Ngoc’s store provides
would benefit them as the Lumenlearning website shown. She should understand
that and work on it immediately. Start with finance and time investment, also
human resources are important too.
IV. REFERENCE
Post, J. (2021), Top E-Commerce Challenges Facing SMBs, Business news
daily, viewed 3rd December 2021,
<https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6028-small-ecommerce-
challenges.html>
(online)
Việt Nam records more than 6,200 cyber attacks in seven months, Việt Nam
news The National Language Daily, viewed 3rd December 2021,
6
<https://vietnamnews.vn/society/523433/viet-nam-records-more-than-6200-
cyber-attacks-in-seven-months.html>
(number of cyberattack cases in Vietnam 2018)
Bowles, R. (2019), Yes, You Can Grow Too Fast, Defy The Status Quo, viewed
3rd December 2021,
<https://defythestatusquo.com/2019/07/24/business-grow-too-fast/>
(Problem of the fast-growth business)
Michelle. n.d, 7 Time Management Tips for Busy Entrepreneurs, Beeketing,
viewed 3rd December 2021,
<https://beeketing.com/blog/time-management-tips-entrepreneurs/>
(Time management)
Fels, E. (2021), Dangers of Rapid Business Growth and What to Do About
Them, Zenbusiness, viewed 3rd December 2021,
<https://www.zenbusiness.com/blog/rapid-growth-dangers/>
(The Business Grew up to fast)
How to find good employees, Indeed for employers, viewed 3rd December
2021, <https://www.indeed.com/recruitment/c/info/how-to-find-good-
employees>
(Find good employees)
Worker Shortage? Here’s How to Handle It, Modernize, viewed 3rd December
2021,
<https://modernize.com/contractor-resources/articles/worker-shortage-
heres-how-to-handle>
(Worker Shortage)
O’Hara, C. (2014). Proven Ways to Earn Your Employees’ Trust. [online]
Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2014/06/proven-ways-
to-earn-your-employees-trust.
(Gain Trust)
Ludwig, S. n.d, 8 Simple Ways to Retain Your Best Employees, U.S. Chamber
of Commerce, viewed 3rd December 2021,
<https://www.uschamber.com/co/run/human-resources/how-to-retain-top-
employees>
(Retain the best employee)
Middleton, T. ( 2021), The importance of teamwork (as proven by science),
Atlassian, <https://www.atlassian.com/blog/teamwork/the-importance-of-
teamwork>
(Teamwork)
