ETHICAL DILEMMA: REPUTATION
Read this article:
1. Staples
2. Sony
3. Tim Horton's
4. Canadian Tire
5. Panasonic
6. Shopper's Drug Mart
7. Subway
8. Kraft
9. Honda
10. Toyota
1. Canadian Tire
2. Tim Horton's
3. Sony
4. Sears
5. Kraft
6. Nestle
7. Panasonic
8. Subway
9. McCain Foods
10. Home Depot
What do you think gives a company a good reputation? What are the criteria for a good
business? What businesses do you think
have a good reputation (name three not on this list)? What businesses do you think have a poor
reputation (name three)?
I think that what gives a company a good reputation is their service to their customer and the quality of their product or service. The main criteria to establish a successful company is to incorporate the following criteria; customer service, quality product, availability and prices. If each of these are looked after properly you will have a lot more service than dealing with an opposing company without these. These criteria are the main points that can put your company ahead of the game. I believe that three businesses with good criteria are the following. Steam, a online gaming company, for their service, speed, client respect, and especially prices. I also believe that Walmart has good customer service. They always have great pricing and excellent return policies. I believe that Pizza Hut has great delivery service, good food, and quick delivery. I find that the places that have the best service are the larger companies, not so much the starters. I believe that the following companies have terrible service. Area Net is a gaming company that never returns emails, calls, or support messages. The only time they will talk to you is if you are causing trouble within their servers. Another company that has bad service was the Spaghetti House, in Peterborough. This is now closed down. The service was horrible. When we first showed up, we waited an hour and a half before we even got our drinks. The third company was Block Buster. We had a lot of problems with them because of them screwing up our membership card, allowing us only to go to certain stores, not all Block Busters outlets. Yet again, this company closed down. In conclusion, Steve Matyas, president of Staples business depot, was right when he said you must build many rights, one at a time. He believes in building a brand icon. I believe Walmart, Pizza Hut, and Steam all have icons that I would recognise on any product and know I was getting a quality item.
ReplyDeleteI think that a good reputation is earned by a company that works hard towards a common goal, has good customer care, professional workers, and quality products. Steve Matyas, president of Staples Business Depot claims that “Retail is a business of doing a thousand different things right, and it’s a cumulative process of one thing building on top of another.” This means that a business operates better when all the employees are working together towards a company’s main goal step by step, which earns it a good reputation. Professional staff are employees who know how to act at the workplace. Consumers are more willing to buy a product or service from professional looking people who know what they are doing than someone who does not even look or act like they work there. Nobody wants to shop at a venture with no return policies or products that break right after purchase. This is why businesses with quality products and great customer service have a good reputation.
ReplyDeleteI think that the criteria for a good business is to have an efficient production process, professional human resources staff, great managers, persuasive marketing and trustworthy accounting staff. Having an efficient production process allows for quality products to be made for a minimum amount of money without compromising to morals of a business. Human resources staff interact a lot with customers and employees, so it is crucial for them to be a good ‘face’ of the company. Management in a business is very important because managers plan, organize, lead, and control a business and its employees. Having a good management team will allow all the functions of a business to operate smoothly. Persuasive marketing is what attracts customers to a business, so it plays a big part in a good business. The more customers a business has, the more profit it makes and more resources are available to improve the business. Having a trustworthy accounting staff means that there is a team of honest accountants that work for the business. This is important because money is less likely to be stolen and time is not wasted worrying about the business’s funds more than you should. When all of these functions of a business work together and communicate, the more likely it is to be successful.
Three businesses that have a good reputation are Costco, Johnson and Johnson, and Amazon. Costco has a wide variety of products available from many different cultures, and I was particularly happy to find Jamaican Patties there to buy when I was missing home. Johnson and Johnson’s products are very high quality, and they have recently replaced their CEO and phased out the use of certain chemicals in their products. Amazon.com is actually considered to be the most reputable company in the world. These three companies also have key qualities in common, including as the good treatment of employees, great product quality, and social responsibility.
Three businesses that have bad reputations are BP, Delta and EA. In 2010, the BP oil spill damaged the company’s reputation so much that the CEO of the company during that time resigned in disgrace. Delta airlines constantly looses luggage, delays flights and is simply unorganized. That is definitely not a good quality to have when working at airports across the globe. I find that the EA customer service is terrible. I recently purchased a Sims game from the company, and the game is constantly crashing. Many other gamers claim to have this problem, but the EA help number is never answered. The above three businesses with bad reputations have poor customer service and bad quality products in common.
Businesses often intend to make profit quickly in the beginning, which frequently leads a company to make questionable and irrational decisions. Therefore a successful and reputable business must make long-term goals. These goals will usually involve collaborating, organization, welcoming input and of course creative and strategic planning. All of these things are important to include when working as a team to achieve realistic goals. On the official website for Tim Hortons, a highly reputable company, its states that "Our mission, in partnership with every restaurant owner and team member, is to be the industry leader through commitment to excellence in people, product quality, value, cleanliness, customer service and community. Tim Hortons was voted by Canadians to attain the best reputation in Marketing Magazine in both 2006 and 2008.
ReplyDeleteIn order for a business to earn a good reputation an organization must be ethical, financially strong, offering quality products and services, innovative, well managed, socially responsible, environmentally conscious, reliable, and committed to customers.
Three businesses that have good reputations are IKEA, Johnson&Johnson, and Google. IKEA is known to have "quick and snappy" customer service. The company introduced home furnishings that are both affordable and fashionable. IKEA is operating in many different countries and is internationally providing families with quality products and services. Johnson&Johnson also operate internationally and companies that do so generally thrive. They have been offering quality medical devices and pharmaceuticals for decades. Google offers free services including, e-mail, maps, images and other things that anyone can access. The company is admired for its "forward-thinking" products says Forbes, a website focused on reinventing the world of business.
However, among the many successful and reputable businesses are companies that don't quite attain these admirable qualities. Including Delta Hotels, Ted Baker an English designer, and Super Store. All three of these companies offer terrible customer service. The staff are not helpful, motivated or slightly amused. This to me is a big issue. It is incredibly discouraging for a customer to go into a place of product or service and feel uncomfortable or unwanted. It is the polar opposite of good practices and will in no means increase sales.
I agree with Alex's comments on reputable businesses. She backs up her comment with statistics and her comments are well thought out. Im not familiar with the companies that she said were poor businesses, other than the Super Store but I trust that she has done lots of research.
DeleteA business with a good reputation is much more likely to succeed over businesses that have a poor reputation. Important factors that contribute to a business having a good reputation are; friendly and helpful customer service, good value products backed with a good warranty, being environmentally friendly, and giving back to their community. Consumers are more likely to buy from companies that have knowledgeable staff that are able to answer any questions about their products and are able to help locate items in store. The internet has made it easier for consumers to compare products. A good business offers products of high quality at comparable prices. Consumers respect companies that stand behind their products by offering a good warranty. Society has become very environmentally concerned. Companies that strive to be environmentally friendly are more likely to succeed. A company that gives back to the community that supports it will have a better reputation.
ReplyDeleteThe criteria for a good business are; having an experienced human resources department, effective marketing campaign, a solid business plan and plenty of hard work and time. The human resource department is responsible for all activities that involve the company’s employees, such as hiring and training. A strong marketing team is important because they need to know who to target. Without marketing, consumers would not know what goods and services are provided by the company. A business plan is key because it eliminates potential problems and gives the company a sense of direction. A good business must put in plenty of time and hard work to set their company apart from all others.
One of the companies that I think has a good reputation is Starbucks. This is because Starbucks shows concern about the environment. In 2012, through the use of personal tumblers and 10% post consumer recycled fibre cups, Starbucks saved more than 1.6 million pounds of paper. The Apple company has a strong reputation for consumer satisfaction. More than 40% of consumers rate their products and service as “excellent”. The Reputation Institute said, “General Mills scored number 1 in citizenship and scored in the top 5 in products and service, governance, and leadership”.
One company with a bad reputation is BlackBerry. Many people have reported problems on several different phones about the touch pad, freezing and overall dissatisfaction. The BlackBerry stock has fluctuated all the way from $18.49 down to $6.10. The current price of BlackBerry stock is $8.85 which shows that the company is not performing well. Bell Canada is among the worst companies in the telecommunications industry. They have poor customer service and their prices are constantly increasing. General Motor’s reputation plummeted with the introduction of the Chevy Volt vehicle. Poor marketing to consumers and reports of batteries catching fire contributed to the company’s bad reputation.
A good business reputation rests on trust. Good business reputation comes from what your goals are and what people see you as. Small things such as environmental, social, quality, compensation, marketing, and costumer service all matter. Tim Horton’s is the third best company in Canada because they are consistent and come out with new products for their consumers.
ReplyDeleteBell has dropped down because they were viewed as a monopoly and were perceived to be less creative with new offers for their customers so fewer people used them. TELUS then took over Bell Mobility because of their offers and new ideas. If you don’t do what’s correct and necessary in your consumers and investors eyes you lose reputation.
I believe that price is also a strong point. If Tim’s started charging $8 for a coffee then I would just go to Starbucks to save money. Since Tim’s is affordable they have a higher reputation than Starbucks.
My criteria above is trust through commitment to affordability, goals, quality, and employment practices. Three brands I believe are in good reputation are McDonalds because of their consistency, Mars Canada Inc. because they are cost competitive and try to be green, and Proctor & Gamble because they are green, help sports, and children.
Three companies with bad reputations are Delta because of their service and passenger comfort compared with the price is terrible, AIG mainly because they lied and drove the whole world under not to mention they took a lot of money, BP because of the fact they pushed their luck and took shortcuts with safety it while knowing it the whole time. They lost trust and they damaged people lives.
Week 6 ethical dilemma
ReplyDeleteI think the most important thing that gives a company a good reputation is customer satisfaction. If customers are satisfied with a company’s service or product they will continue to do business with that company. Also, satisfied customers will tell others, their family and friends about the business and this will result in new customers and sales for the business.
There are a couple of key attributes or criteria that most companies who are considered to have good reputation possess. One key attribute is that they have good, solid customer service. Another attribute is quality of product and service. Some businesses might not meet their customers face to face, and for those businesses they need either quality or quantity with their products or service. Some businesses need one over the other but most businesses need both good customer service and a quality or quantity product or service in order to be recognized and gain a good reputation.
In my opinion, to survive and grow as a company in our current competitive and customer demanding environment a good business must have both quality product or service and solid customer service. Businesses that meet or exceed this are very consumer oriented businesses, and they will do better than competitors with less customer and product focus. One company that has consistently been identified by customers and industry leaders as having a good reputation, quality product, and customer service is Apple. In 2012, it was ranked 3rd in the MSN Money 2012 Customer Service Hall of Fame Survey. Apple has remained high in the rankings over the last few years. Many consider Apple's service and sales to be unmatched in the American retail sector.
Some other businesses that have established a good reputation are GE and Google. Another business would be Costco. Costco is known for having good customer service but on top of that they sell their products in huge quantities that you can’t find at any other store.
One retail giant that has huge profits and sales, but a poor reputation is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world, making its profits on volume of sales. They sell lots of stuff, very cheap. However, Wal-Mart has gained a reputation of being tough on their suppliers, paying and treating their employees poorly, cutting staff numbers, and poor customer service. Wal-Mart’s bad attitude toward employees, suppliers and customers is starting to affect its profits. Sales growth has been poor, compared to Costco one of its main rivals. Another business that ranks low is Best Buy, which is considered to have one of the worst customer services reputations in the retail. Also, Home Depot has ranked very low for customer satisfaction and poor customer service.
Sites used:
http://money.msn.com/investing/2012-customer-service-hall-of-fame-1
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2013/04/17/walmart-pays-workers-poorly-and-sinks-while-costco-pays-workers-well-and-sails-proof-that-you-get-what-you-pay-for/
http://www.comparebusinessproducts.com/fyi/10-best-and-10-worst-companies-customer-service
I agree that customer service is a big part of reputation as is a quality product. But you could have the best customer service and the best products but if you sold quality televisions from the 50's and had great costumer service then you still wouldn't make money. If you dont go with what the people want, then you get killed in the market. Other than that I agree on everything you said.
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