1. Provide a complete organization mission statement.
Carnival Corporation’s goal is to provide extraordinary vacation experiences (2) around the world (3) for people of all lifestyles (1).
Our commitment to maintain our fun, quality environments (7) is fueled by our acquisition and retention of exceptional employees (9) that embody our guest centered service philosophy (6).
Improvements to our technologies, (4) service operations, and maintenance are continuous to keep growing our brands (5) in the most responsible way possible (8).
2. Provide a problem statement – goal to be achieved through strategy. We want all of our voyages to be fun and successful, where both guests and crew are aware and informed of all statuses and outcomes throughout the duration of the trip.
Today we have had too many safety concerns that are have resulted in 2014’s first quarter producing $0.00 earnings per share (EPS) due to customers losing confidence in our abilities to provide a safe, enjoyable vacation1. If we ignore this problem, increased resources and compensation will need to be issued to handle additional problems; and most importantly we may lose customer loyalty, which will result in continued loss of earnings per share, revenue, and may negatively impact the reputation of Carnival Corporation. In the first quarter of 2013, earnings per share were at $0.082, and our goal is to improve our financial position to begin the first quarter of 2015 at $0.10 earnings per share. 3. Provide an internal environment assessment: list 4 strengths and weaknesses. Connect each to the problem statement – show how strengths would be exploited and weaknesses corrected (or managed) to achieve a successful problem statement outcome. Strengths
The Essay on Defining research problem and setting objectives
1. Defining Research Problem and Setting Objectives The Research Problem. The problem identified might be too broad in coverage; therefore it has to be narrowed down to a specific research problem in a specific setting. Question relative to the problem may be raised: a. Are the problems on the youth’s undesirables values also felt in the local setting of the study? b. To what extent are these ...
1. Market Dominance – One of the largest strengths for Carnival is its sheer scale and scope of brands. Carnival competes in almost every market segment worldwide and its largest competitor, Royal Caribbean, is less than half its
size. Carnival has enormous control over the cruise industry and can afford to undertake new procedures and projects to continue their growth. Being a dominant presence also enables Carnival the platform to negotiate with vendors to achieve lower costs. This strength can assist in successful problem statement results because Carnival is easily able to finance new projects and participate in acquisitions to increase share revenues. 2. Operational Experience – Carnival has massive experience in owning, operating, and acquiring cruise lines. This experience has created organizational records for above average revenues and below average costs.
Successful problem statement results can be positively impacted by this experience because it is easier for Carnival to expand in new markets and make smart strategic decisions. 3. Brand Recognition – Being the largest cruise line operator, Carnival is recognized around the world by people looking to cruise. Carnival has been able to obtain and retain guests due to their extensive loyalty programs which offer guests incentives for using Carnival Corporation brands. Brand loyalty and recognition can help achieve higher share earnings because guests will continue to support a brand they know and receive benefits from. 4. Marketing – Carnival’s gigantic presence can be seen in their marketing campaigns. Print, TV, and social media presence, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, are common place for Carnival. These marketing campaigns for Carnival Corporation can assist in increasing awareness of expansions and encouraging customers to try their vacation experience. Weaknesses
1. Poor Safety Record – Carnival has had numerous safety incidents that have attracted poor media attention. The sinking of the Costa Concordia has been the largest woe; resulting in 30 passengers dead, 2 missing, and horrifying images plastered on news stations of the cruise ship listed at a ninety degree angle off the European coast. In addition to the Costa Concordia tragedy, Carnival has had multiple other incidents which include: engine room fires, propulsion problems, guests lost at sea, and virus outbreaks3. This weakness could be managed to help achieve successful problem statement outcomes by focusing on integrating safety as a key value in Carnival’s culture.
The Essay on Problems With Customer Service
Have you ever been to a fast food restaurant and the employees treated you as if it was a burden on them to wait on you? They are rude and sometimes even obnoxious and by the end of your contact with them, you do not really want to give that company your business anymore. Do you feel like laughing when you hear advertisements saying things like, Have it your way or Food, Folks and Fun because you ...
If Carnival can successfully implement a focus on safety and maintenance, they can increase consumer confidence in the brand and share earnings. 2. Organizational Structure – Carnival currently operates in a top-down hierarchical management structure on their ships. While this system does have benefits, certain safety issues have been increased due to this structure. Employees who interact directly with guests or machinery are the first to see changes in their environment and understand what these changes may mean. These employees that have first contact with issues usually have no authority to act on them, and must wait for decisions to be transmitted up the chain of command and then back down again.
By focusing on employee empowerment and increasing the cohesiveness between managers and employees, Carnival can promote better communication on their fleets and guests will be able to see in increase in both service and safety that can be crucial to customer confidence and purchasing power. 3. Predominantly US Customers – Carnival Corporation focuses a majority of their advertising campaigns to US customers, which has narrowed the scope of their profitability. Relying primarily on US customers can be risky, especially when some of the safety incidents are happening close to home. To successfully integrate resolve to the problem statement, Carnival needs to focus on marketing to other nations around the world, offer incentives to US cruisers to keep cruising, and add to their market expansion.
Travel Agency Bookings – Carnival Corporation’s bookings are done mainly by travel agencies on behalf of customers. As the need for easier access to bookings grows, Carnival Corporation needs to focus on other easy access ways to book and have questions answered, such as a larger focus on internet and phone services. Some customers may not be informed of the options available for cruising when taking a vacation and the use of travel agencies has declined significantly. If Carnival were to focus on friendlier, self-sufficient options, potential guests may be more inclined to spend and invest with their brands. Provide an external environment assessment: list and describe 2 opportunities when exploited would facilitate achieving a successful problem statement outcome; list and describe 2 threats that unless mitigated would present substantial opposition to a successful problem statement outcome.
The Business plan on Market Structures and Pricing Strategies
In Economics, market structures are broken down into four main structure types, Perfect Competition, Monopolistic Competition, Oligopoly and Monopoly. This paper will elaborate on how they are broken down by variables, such as how many buyers and sellers, cost and direct competition. The price for the consumer is affected under these structure types and this paper will explain the four different ...
Opportunities
1. Promising Demographics – As populations in North America and Europe increase in age, Carnival’s market increases as well. Carnival can take advantage of the aging populations by focusing on these consumers to embrace cruising as a vacation option. Identifying vacationers ready to take their first cruise, enter retirement, or with extra discretionary income; Carnival can capitalize on this opportunity to gain and retain new customers, ultimately increasing their revenue and share profits.
2. Asian Market – The cruise market for Asian customers has significantly grown over the past few years, opening opportunities for new market segments for Carnival. Since 2010, their segment has grown by over 40% due to increasingly aging and affluent consumers. Currently, Carnival lacks in this market, having only one ship focus on the Asian segment4. By expanding a new brand into the Asian region, incorporating more Asian themed cruise itineraries, or merging with another cruise line to conquer the region, Carnival Corporation could make an enormous increase in not only their customer base, but profit as well. Threats
1. Fuel Prices – Although a smaller percentage of Carnival’s pricing assembly, fuel prices can be unpredictable, and dangerous to a company that is trying to keep costs low and increase share profits. By focusing on fuel hedging and promoting more eco-friendly, fuel efficient equipment, and Carnival can help mitigate some risk and financial uncertainty that may result from higher fuel costs. Short term profitability could be negatively impacted if the price of oil continues to rise and Carnival chooses to not have measures in place to keep a controlled, hedged supply.
The Business plan on Toyota Target Market And Positioning Strategy
Toyota is the largest global automotive manufacturer and has been successful targeting select markets. For success in the future, they have hired consultants to review its success. The experts will evaluate Toyota’s target market and market positioning in the global automotive industry. Target market will identify demographics, and geographics where they are successful and what changes can be ...
2. Political Uncertainty – Increased political tensions in some areas around the world, such as Europe, the Middle East, and Southern Asia can hinder Carnival’s itineraries and disrupt certain cruises and port destinations. Carnival can counteract potential threats by preparing to move from one destination to another, having backup itineraries for cruises in unstable areas, and keeping guests informed of any issues. By focusing on these strategies, Carnival can try to contain losses that may have been sustained by cancelling cruises in these areas. 5. Identify best strategy type.
Market Development
A. Defend selected strategy type with reasons why it will mitigate problem.
Carnival currently operates with a cost leadership strategy focusing on value chain activities by being a low cost producer of cruises where buyers may not see much difference from brand to brand, and ultimately holding a huge market share. Carnival Corporation has established themselves as a dominant, cost efficient choice for consumers, but to increase revenues and earnings per share, expanding their services into new geographic areas, such as Asia, will have the most benefit. Carnival is established as a successful organization that has the experience, production capacity, human resources, and capital to enter in to this new market which is all crucial to utilizing a market development strategy. Market development in Asian areas will increase revenues and share earnings in an area where Carnival is currently receiving little revenue.
6. Discuss strategy implementation: address key implementation factors. For Carnival to successfully implement the market development strategy, it is key to focus on certain factors. One factor that is crucial is researching their new demographics by product positioning. By identifying the area to introduce new cruises as the Asian market, Carnival has formulated where the strategy will be most effective, but needs to capitalize on what the Asian market desires from a cruise line. By researching another cruise line in the Asian market, Star Cruises, Carnival can adapt and improve on what works well for them. Another key factor to implementing this strategy will be advertisement. Marketing needs to be done not just in the new area for development; but all around the world to potential cruisers who may want to cruise with a familiar brand in an unfamiliar place.
The Essay on Go To Market Strategy
A go-to-market strategy defines the activities and the participants that connect a firm to its customers and prospects (Zoltners 2001). Within this framework the process of deciding on a go to market strategy usually involves answering four major questions. The first of these questions involve determining how best way to segment the existing market. Since customers are heterogeneous with differing ...
Carnival would be foolish to only market these additional services to people in the Asian geographic area. Another key implementation factor will be obtaining and training new staff that is familiar with Asian language and culture to make this development successful. Asians are much enriched in history and for a cruise line to be successful in their culture it is necessary to provide not only the staff with essential information, but make sure the ships servicing this area are constructed to do so as well. A. Discuss the following: organizational design issues that impact strategy implementation; example, reengineering challenges, structure issues, responsibility, and authority. Discuss resourcing.
Discuss one other factor tends to impact strategy implementation. Carnival Corporation may encounter implementation issues when trying to reengineer their organization. One crucial aspect to the market development, especially when entering an unfamiliar market, is to reduce barriers to rival companies, to see how they operate best. Carnival may gain a lot of advantage by reengineering their Asian market to mirror high points of Star Cruises, but communicating with Star Cruises may be difficult as Eastern countries have very different managerial styles. The power and relationships will need to be restructured in Asian markets because Carnival currently operates with a top-down managerial style which is the opposite of most Asian countries, who tend to focus on team oriented goals and management.
Carnival’s current managerial structure will need to be redesigned to be in tune with those of Asian cultures; otherwise there may be confusion for both employees and guests while onboard. Carnival Corporation needs to allocate enough resources to the new Asian market to show they are consistent with making this development their newest priority. Carnival is currently equipped with an abundance of necessary implementation resources: financial, physical, human, and technological; and can utilize all these resources in implementing their market development. One factor that may impact strategy implementation is the newly anticipated power positions created by entering a new market. Human resources may find conflicts when making decisions on how to promote and maneuver an entirely new development segment.
The Term Paper on Analysis of Unilever’s Risks and Risk Management Strategies
With the rapid development of modern economy, companies are always exposed to risks which are penetrating to all walks of life and not only exist in the products market, but also exist in financial market (Ballou, 2005). It is undoubtedly that risks jeopardize the company’s development in that they may increase the cost of a company’s operation and make it harder for a company to make a crucial ...
7. Discuss strategy evaluation: control systems.
By initiating the development in the Asian market, management will be able to control and monitor the success of the projected strategy by evaluating consumer confidence in Carnival as it begins its expansion process. A. Specifics on how review, adjustment, and control performed. Control will be evaluated by the earnings per share calculation. By implementing a new brand into the Asian segment, Carnival can observe the earnings per share for that specific brand and factor that towards the overall earnings per share of Carnival Corporation. By producing projected ship and itinerary plans, Carnival can gauge customer interest and confidence in the new brand.
Carnival can increase the effectiveness of this strategy by offering early booking promotions for the new market segment along to boost revenue and consumer confidence. B. Specific methods of performance measurement and strategy management. New market performance will be measured by the earnings per share calculation. Earnings per share represent the portion of a company’s stock that is allocated to one share of stock. Earnings per share are found by dividing the company’s total net income by the outstanding shares. Any increase will be an improvement on the current calculations of $0.00, but earnings per share will need to improve to $0.10 to achieve the projected outcome.
8. Close with a discussion of contingency planning.
A. Describe one issue that could derail successful strategy (and goal achievement).
One issue that could derail the successful strategy execution of expanding in to the Asian market is the management structure. Eastern and Western cultures are so opposite in management and treatment of employees that it may be difficult for Carnival to implement successful growth in a market that is so foreign to them. Using the management strategies that work so well in the Western cultures are opposite to the successful management structures in Eastern countries. It may be difficult to find employees who are open to a new style of management, and management who is open to managing in a different style.
To incorporate this new management restructuring it will be crucial to bring on leaders familiar with the Asian business culture, which may not have cruise industry experience. B. Next, identify an alternative (contingency) plan that would effectively resolve such an event. If Carnival is unsuccessful in developing new growth in the Asian market, a contingency strategy would be to perform a friendly merger with Star Cruises who already have a customer base in the Asian segment. Star Cruises underperforms even in a hugely profitable and fast growing market. Carnival’s financial resources and cruise management experience could benefit Star Cruises to increase their financial success, which will in turn give Carnival a step in the right direction to expand their market share and increase earnings and customer confidence on a global scale.
