Strategic Management of ABC Automobile-Samples- Myassignment

Question: Identify the Ethical, Strategic, Operational and Financial Issues in this Scenario and list them in priority order from most to least Critical. Answer: ABC automobile is one of the leading car manufacturers of Japan with its presence in as many as 100 countries across the world. The automobile company has recently decided to launch a new car in the market which has been designed by the company over a period of 3 years. The automobile is pitted to be one of the best in its class and primary research has revealed that the car will be a game changer in the market. The company has recently appointed me as the manager of overseas operations and has provided me with a bunch of individuals to manage the sales, marketing, finance and operational functions before the launch of the new product. My team has been functioning round the clock and has been travelling to different markets around the globe to promote the new car. All was ok till then but crisis struck in Malaysia. Just before three days when training was scheduled to start in Malaysia the local operational manager of the country informed me that the shipments consisting the training materials did not arrived in the country and he was desperately trying to track down the shipment as because loss of the shipment could mean a delay of more than one month to start the training program afresh. After receiving the news I was completely taken back by the development as the delay would mark a bad reputation for me and would have a negative impact on my career. There were ethical, strategic, operational and financial issues associated in the situation (Girling, 2013). I decided to prioritize them on a proper order from the most to the least critical issues; Strategic Issues- The delay in the launch of the car would mark a negative impact on the business of the company in Malaysia as because the company has already announced the launch dates and bookings have started. The competitive advantage of ABC automobiles in the country will also be impacted (Hsu, Backhouse Silva, 2014). Financial Issues- The management of the company have invested a huge sum on the launch of the product in the mentioned South Asian market and any delay will lead to the escalation of the costs which will create serious problems for the company to re plan the launch program (Meunier Bakker, 2016). Operational Issues- Another main issue is the operational issue as because planning the whole thing over again and acquiring new training resources will certainly be a problem for the operations team. Ethical Issues- The only ethical issue for the company will be the failure of the company to deliver the cars on time (Pinto Magpili, 2015). Being the director of the overseas operations it was a challenge for me to respond positively to the situation. I had very few options available to resolve the situation. The first one was to cancel the product launch altogether and announce a new date while the second one was to go with the original date and launch the product within the stipulated time period. The time was very short and I was desperate to make myself count. I decided to go with the second option and hatched a new plan. As the shipments were missing I decided not to rely on them and ordered a new set of training materials from the head office to be shifted to Malaysia by air. The task was herculean as assembling the shipment and then packing it and sending it to be delivered required huge timing and dedication from the employees. I personally flew to Australia and supervised the whole operation. I announced an incentive for the employees who assembled the new set of materials and working almost for 24 hours a day w e finally managed to transport the materials to Kuala Lumpur one and a half days prior to the launch. A quick training session was conducted by me where I made the employees understand the importance of the crisis situation. The employees responded well and finally our team was successful in launching the product at the stipulated time. However the case could have been different as the launch could have been cancelled given the adverse circumstances. In such a case I will step forward before the management and will take the responsibility of the failure. Apart from this I would propose some measures to make up for the loss in the sales and revenue. I would prepare a proper financial plan to make up for the lost revenue and would implement some proper marketing strategies to increase the sales of the car. The sales would also increase if special discounts are announced for the product. References Girling, P. (2013).Operational risk management. Wiley,. Hsu, C., Backhouse, J., Silva, L. (2014). Institutionalizing operational risk management: an empirical study.Journal of Information Technology,29(1), 59-72. Meunier, P. P., Bakker, A. (2016). How to turn uncertainties of operational risk capital into opportunities from a risk management perspective. Pinto, A. C., Magpili, L. (2015).Operational Risk Management. Momentum Press.