Critical analysis the business environment of Mr. and Mrs. Yates Essay

Critical analysis the business environment of Mr. and Mrs. Yates Grocery stores - Essay Example They do not hold the store in selling popular products but rather have developed a distinct business differentiation by targeting that population which likes to buy European food items. This gives them a slightly different target market than the other grocery stores and super markets in the vicinity. The grocery stores are medium sized; the profits are dependent upon the number of sales made each day as they cannot be dependent upon a huge variety and array of products as there is limited space in the stores. The Yates believe that they are providing a service rather than just selling grocery to their customers; they believe in being knowledgeable about the grocery they are selling and they are well versed in their specification so that they can provide ample and astute guidance to their customers. In-spite of these fine aspects, the Yates have been suffering huge losses and mismanagement problems, this report struggles to identify the cause of these problems and offer solutions. We are going to analyze the operations, information, and quality management problems that the company is facing. For this we first need to establish what these concepts are: Operations management: Operations management is a branch of management that deals in overseeing and refining the business processes so that they incorporate optimization of resources (minimum use of resources and maximum output) and also make them apt at meeting customer needs. It concerns constructing new processes and redesigning old ones to make them more efficient and optimal. Information management: This concerns the collection and management of information from all the sources available; sorting useful information from the clutter and utilizing it in time to ensure the efficient and effective management of resources. Quality management: Quality management is ensured in any organization by catering to the following aspects: Quality planning Quality control Quality assurance Quality improvement If the organizat ion is adhering to these four aspects, not only in their product/services but also in all their processes and procedures, and ensuring continuous improvement, only then is it a quality organization. Now, this report will aim to find the discrepancies in the Yates grocery stores related to these concepts. The first tools being utilized to analyze the grocery store is: 1. PESTLE Analysis: The environment in which a business operates can be very dynamic and unpredictable; it contains the following aspects: 1.1. Political: The free trade policies that are being adopted by governments are a great benefit to the Yates as they have to import international food items. These no tariff policies greatly reduce the cost of the products. Any change in these policies will be a threat to the Yates. All businesses have to adhere by the rules and regulations established by the government for the working of a business, they include: agreements, MOU’s, charters etc. They are very important and have to be managed in order to maintain smooth running of the business (Kerzner 2009, p. 65-92). 1.2. Economical: Economic factors are a great concern for the Yates as they impact the buying behaviors of customers directly. The recent recession is a great example of how economy affects businesses. If the buying power of people reduces, they give priority to the necessities and do not divulge in unnecessary items such as foreign food