Sustainable Business Practices and Strategies for KIA Motors

This article discusses sustainable business practices and strategies for KIA Motors to gain competitive advantage in the global market. It covers issues faced by the organization, recommendations, and a strategy map with key performance indicators.

4/24/2018
TO A NEW FUTURE | [Type the author name]
KIA MOTORS W.E.I.M.

1SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
Sustainable Business Practices and Strategies
Name of the student
Name of the university
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2SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
Executive summary
An organization can only be made effective by utilizing their resources in an efficient
manner and organization is completely aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Globalization
has changed the scenario in the global market due to increase in competition among the global
industry giants and entry of the smaller players in the market. Automobile industry is the global
market is always a highly competitive market due to the presence of companies such as Toyota,
Ford, Renault and Volkswagen. KIA motor is among the top companies in the automobile
industry but it is still is the follower in the market. There are different cases in the appendices
which depict the various strengths and weaknesses of the company and the various due to which
the organization has not been able to gain competitive advantage over the global leader, Toyota.
KIA motor is one of the South Korean automobile and is the second largest producer of
automobiles in South Korea. The stakeholders are not pleased with the performance of the
organization and they expect the organization to do much better and pose a significant threat in
the global market. The organization has developed effectively human resource policies to
provide employees with benefits and motivate them to work at their full potential. However, the
employees are provided with low compensation packages which have developed dissatisfaction
among a huge chunk of employees. On the other hand, the biggest concern for the organization is
the suppliers that always try to control the prices of the raw materials. Toyota is the market
leader and is the biggest competitor for KIA Motor. Toyota has established good relationship
with their suppliers and has used innovative ideas to introduce economies of scale into their
business model. This is the reason that they are able to serve better quality automobiles at similar
prices which has provided them with competitive advantage.

3SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
The main objective of the company is to gain competitive advantage in the market by
increasing their sales volumes and decreasing their production cost. The quality of product by
KIA motor is high but they lack in their marketing activities which has not been able to leverage
their position in the market. Moreover, the some of their cars sold in the United States had
technical issues which had an adverse effect on the brand image. Therefore, the organization
aims to improve their marketing strategies to enhance the recognition off the brand and the
product line. The organization wishes to use market development to enter new markets to
increase their sales volumes by keeping a close eye on the competitors.
The major issues faced by the organization are inconsistent payment of the employees in
the organization and development of effective reward system for the employees. Therefore, it is
essential for the organization to motivate their workforce to perform in a better way to gain
competitive advantage. The supplier policy of KIA motor is also faulty which shows that
developing better relationship with the internal stakeholders is another factor that the
organization will have to focus on. Therefore, the prime objective of this project is improvement
in salary structure, conduction sessions with the employees, develop effective marketing strategy
and add value to the brand by using technological advancement. However, the organization will
face issues due to lack of effective branding policies and absence of multicultural dimension.
There are three major recommendations that are being provided to the organizations for
sustaining their growth in the business are improvement in global human resources management
policy. This can be achieved by engaging the employees effectively which will boost the morale
the workforce. Moreover, this will facilitate in reducing the turnover rate of the organization thus
by decreasing the human resource cost. This can be achieved by using innovative strategies for
improving the engagement of employees. The organization has also been recommended to

4SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
promote positive attitude among the employees. These will enable to increase their
competencies in the international market. The organization will also have to develop rewards
and recognition programs for motivating the employees and thanking them for their service to
the organization.
The next strategy recommended to the organization is development of effective sales
strategy for attaining success in the global market that is sustainable. This is highly
recommended before making an expansion into foreign market and using market development
strategy. Therefore, analyzing the foreign market and understanding the needs of the local
consumers is essential. KIA motors will be able to develop automobiles based on these
specifications that will suit the need of the consumers. The organization will also have to analyze
the disposable income of the consumers so that they can develop products based on the
purchasing power of the consumers. In order to compete in the global market, KIA motors will
have to use competitive pricing as a strategy. The organization will also to make improvement in
their supply chain process which is necessary for increasing their production capacity. This can
be obtained by using innovative technological processes which will improve the overall logistics
process. The organization will have to use economies of scale to increase the efficiency of the
supply chain processes and reduce their cost of production. This will enable them to use
competitive pricing effectively to attain cost leadership in the market and gain majority of the
market share. Moreover, the organization can outsource their business units to reduce the cost of
production in developing countries where the labour costs are low. The organization will also
have to focus on their marketing strategy where they will have to make use of digital
communication to increase their market penetration.

5SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
W.E.I.M is a strategy which consists of factors such as Workforce, economies of scale,
innovation and marketing. These factors are the key factors for improving the market
competitiveness of KIA motors. These factors will have their own set of metrics which will be
used to identify the success of the strategy. Workforce management will consist of metrics such
as reduction in turnover art, increase in productivity, motivation level of employees and
employee participation. Economies of scale will deal with metrics such as cost reduction, quality,
production rate and stock availability. Innovation will use metrics such as increase in efficiency
of the processes and improvement in the quality of the products. Marketing will use metric such
as increases in sales volumes, increase the footfall in outlets, and increase in traffic on online
websites and social media websites. These factors will be essential for developing a balance
scorecard which will be essential for evaluating the progress of KIA motors.

Strategy map
KIA MOTORS
Financial
Customer
Internal
Capacity
Improve cost structure Increase asset utilization
price
Enhance customer value Expand revenue opportunities
quality
Differentiated product
Availability and selection
Function
Service image
Brand
operations
Customer management processes
distributions
Innovative processes
Technological advancement
Regulatory processes
Workforce
Rewards and Recognition
Skills and training
Strategic Themes Theme One Theme Two Theme Three

BALANCE SCORE
CARD
KEY PERFORMANCE
INDICATORS
TARGETS INITIATIVES
YEAR
1
YEAR
2
YEAR
3
PROGRAM
S
BUDGET
S
Workforce
Reduction in turnover art
Increase in productivity
Motivation level of
employees
Employee participation
Economies of Scale
cost reduction
Quality
production rate
Stocks availability
Innovation
efficiency of the processes
Improvement in the quality
of the products
Marke Increase in sales volumes

8SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
ting
Increase the footfall in
outlets
Increase in traffic on online
websites and social media
websites

9SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
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Appendices
Appendix 1
KIA Motors
KIA Motors Corporation has its headquarters in Seoul, which is the second largest
manufacturer of automobiles in South Korea. The sales of the company have been estimated to
be 3.3 million in the year 2015 and Hyundai is one of the major shareholders who has a total
share of 34 percent in the company. The stakeholders of the company are a group of people who
create an impact on the sale of the products in a direct or in an indirect manner (Gupta &
Sharma, 2014). The stakeholders help in putting pressure on the company so that they can
perform in a better manner and increase the output of the company. The decisions that are taken
up by the stakeholders helps in influencing the decision of the company as well, as they act in the
best interest of the company. The stakeholder of Kia motors is the investors, employees,
suppliers and the customers (Chen, Feldmann & Tang, 2015).
One of the primary stakeholders of the company are the investors; who look after the rate
of profit of the organization. By monitoring the profits, they are able to transform the share of
dividends that are earned on the shares, and keep the operation cost of the company at a
minimum level. This allows KIA Motors to maintain a higher rate of profit level and minimize
the operating cost as well (Zorkociova, Simorova & Sasikova, 2014).
The employees of KIA are provided with equal opportunities so that they can work in an
effective manner. Most of the employees are recruited without being discriminated on their
nationality, gender, religion and race. They are involved in to the process of decision making by

22SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
the company which allows the management to make better decisions by consulting with the
employees. This keeps their employees motivated, and allows them to provide higher levels of
productivity (Dehning et al., 2017). The organization also provides its employees with job
security in which employees can perform more efficiently, and this consequently raises the
organization’s overall levels of productivity. One of the major concerns of the company is that
they provide low wages to the employees, which may affect them psychologically compared to
other companies that pay higher. The employees may feel de-motivated within the organization,
as they are not rewarded in a proper manner for the services that they are providing within the
organization. This is one of the major issues that is present within the organization that needs to
be solved in a proper manner so that the employees can remain motivated and in turn retain high
talents (Barron, Pereda & Stacey, 2017).
The suppliers of the company are those who will provide the raw materials so that it can
be processed and supplied in the market for the customers to purchase it. The suppliers try to
control the prices of the raw materials, which may affect the operating cost of the KIA Motors,
as the high prices may lead them to increase the prices when the product is available in the
market. The increase in the prices of the products will help the suppliers in getting a better rate of
return as well (Soo, 2014).
The customers are important stakeholders for the company; they are the ones buying their
automobiles and services. The feedbacks of customers will be considered by the company while
making any changes so that the level of comfort can be increased in the new products released
(Rhee, Bohnsack & Lee, 2017).

23SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
KIA Motors is a giant company in terms of automobiles. The choice of KIA meets the
criteria of the playbook because it is a publicly traded company as requested, and a vast amount
of information can be found on this company that allows me to complete the different tasks
assigned for each week (Laureate Education, 2014). As KIA was the first car I drove; I chose to
write about them. This company has improved and is improving year by year to dominate a large
class within the market. I am excited to share with the class more and more information about
this company.
One of the major competitors of KIA Motors is Toyota, as they also provide new and
somehow better automobiles in the market at a competitive price. This has helped Toyota in
attracting a large number of customers towards them. Toyota is able to provide the products at a
cheaper rate because they maintain a good relationship with the suppliers, as the raw materials
are purchased by them at a cheaper cost. The company also takes in to consideration that the
employees are remunerated in a proper manner in order to have them as an integral part of the
organization (Soo, 2014). The employees of Toyota are provided with a fair amount of wages
and salaries to increase their level of satisfaction and motivation. Additionally, the employees are
involved in the decision-making process of the company, and tasks are well distributed and
communicated. This seems important to Toyota’s strategy as their employees communicate with
the customers at a regular interval. Toyota’s strategy expands to offer customers a privilege of
being a “Premium customer” in order to avail the extra facilities that are present within the
organization such as free maintenance of the vehicle after a period of time. This allows the
company to attract a majority of customers towards them (Dehning et al., 2017).
The annual report for the company for 2017 shows that the profit has come to USD27,
54,640 which shows that the company is in a good position in its financial affairs. The salaries of

24SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
the employees has been given at an amount of USD278,251 for that given year. The company
has also spent on the innovation part for their automobiles to provide them with a competitive
advantage in the market (Rakita, Madic & Markovic, 2017). The Research and Development
team of the company is very active, as the manufacturing of the hybrid cars has also helped in
gaining a competitive edge over the rivals that are present in the market. The company has sold
around 62,510 cars in Korea and in the United States the sales volume for the company
amounted to 112,490 units. In China, the volume of sales for the company was 193,410 units
where as in Europe; the volume has been 219,000 units. This shows that the company has
positioned themselves in a better manner across all the major markets that are present in the
economy (Gupta & Sharma, 2014).

25SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
Appendix 2
Evaluation of the Mission, Vision, and Values of an Organization
Mission, Vision, and Values
The KIA Motors has steadily increased it values in comparison to other
brands of automobile company. It has reached to the count of top 100
brands which were listed in the year 2012. The company has attend a high
level of goodwill which was a very huge amount, the brand value of the
company reached 6.7 billion dollars which was a bit less in the previous year
by about 6%. This helped the company to reach the goal of being one of the
top 60 brands.
The company’s mission is quite distinct from the other companies; to earn
the trust of global society and become established around the world as a
well-loved leader in the automotive industry.
The KIA Motors vision is to be the world’s number one brand, maintain
satisfied customers, and takes up challenges to reach heights.
The company values share a great amount of prosperity of human beings
using eco-friendly technologies. It also give acute and valuable attention to
make or initiate a new structure all together to respect and accumulate
attention of people.
The company aims at being one of the most recognized brands worldwide.
Its main aim is to acquire profit, keeping in mind the well-being of the

26SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
business environment. It supplies product of good quality at affordable prices
for the masses.
The soulful purpose of the company is that it keeps on trying to make life
productive with the help of automobiles and also by taking up creative
challenges to maintain harmony between the shareholders customers’ and
the industry/market itself. These paths have made them reach to the level
where they are now; further, this perpetual image will help it attain its goals
which is the sole purpose of every firm.
Evidence Supporting the Foundation
The vision of the company keeps it compatible with the world which is
being used as the market for selling of the product of the company. Its aim
for being the world number one company can only be fulfilled only if the
company is versatile enough to look after all the aspects of the prevailing or
changing business environment. It accepts all type of challenges with proper
attention to risk management reaching greater heights in the market.
Production of eco-friendly products makes the company more
acceptable for the society as well as the acting government. Price
affordability attracts new customers and retain current ones to further
increase the total sales of the company.
The company’s management takes care of the stake holders of the
company through proper communication and truthful information in the

27SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
books of accounts which are used by the internal and external users of
accounting information (Bucher & Klingenberg, 2014). They keep on applying
innovation and creativity in making their products that will lead to achieving
their organizational goals.
Evaluating Strengths and Weaknesses
There are certain strengths and weaknesses of the KIA motors
company with reference to their vision, mission, and values. These strengths
and weaknesses affect the running of the business positively and negatively
as well. Some of such strength and weaknesses are:
Strengths -
 The company is the largest producer of automobile in South Korea
which proves it to be a recognized brand.
 The company’s aim is to be the largest brand in the world whereas it is
already among the 5 largest brands in terms of sales. 1.5 million Cars
are sold by the company per year.
 It is a recognized sponsor of some of the biggest automobile related
events of the world such as Formula 1, Euro Cup, Australian Open, FIFA
World Cup, X-Games in US.
 It has been providing employment to about 42,000 people all over the
world (Kwon, An, Han, Kim, & Shin, 2018).
 The company has a product portfolio which is very good in quality as
well as a great presence as a brand in the market.

28SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
Weaknesses -
 Recalling more than half a million compact cars from 2012, 2013 and
2014 in the United States as the brake lights may not go out when the
pedal is released (The Associated Press, 2017).
 The company has sponsored renowned events still it has not been able
to leverage its presence in the market and still not a well know
company globally due to less marketing or faulty marketing of the
brand (Jang, Jun & Shin, 2018).
 Geographical reach of the company is less as its working with
consumers of very few countries and not throughout the world like
other auto mobile companies.
Evaluation Recommending Specific Revisions
To be the world largest or recognized brand the company has to bring
certain changes in its management as well working to attain higher
authority. The company lack few things which are needed to be changed to
attain success in the business environment. Few of them are mentioned
below:
 Proper strategy is to be applied in marketing of the product as well as
the brand to make the brand more renowned and attain higher brand
recognition
 As the sales margin is an important indicator of the success of the
company, KIA shall focus on increasing its sales margin by accessing

29SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
new markets and countries while keeping a close watch on its
competition.
 Should apply strategies, rules and regulation to stay immune or
withstand the effects of braking system which KIA is prone to.
 The company should introduce certain plans to develop the leverage
its presence in the market that will help the company be renowned
among other companies and increase the sales.
The Company is also strong in providing best electrified and eco-friendly
cars to the market and is recognized as one of the best companies in its eco-
friendly production process. This has made the company more reliable for
the costumers in turn making its sales higher over the years. Participation in
events which are renowned worldwide made it a promising brand as well as
a versatile brand.
Analysis and Lessons from James Houghton and Signature
Theatre case
In the case study of James Houghton and Signature Theater, we find
that the theatre had some funding problems which is not the same in the KIA
Motors Company. The company has strong funding methods with subsidiary
companies associated which helps the company to fund its production.
Maintain reputation is an issue which is common for both the
businesses’ concern to attain a brand recognition both the companies need

30SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
to expand their business and apply strategies which will help them to be
counted among the recognized brands (Jackson et al., 2016).
The analysis structures of both the companies are same, the theatre
analyze the script first then arrange for collaborative team teaching, they
also incorporate workshop to produce post card and acquire good range of
professionals which leads to the development of the country. KIA also
appoint proper skilled management staff who work in collaboration
participate in events and plan, manage, direct work in a way which has
developed it to be a global brand and attend goal of the organization.
Lessons Learned –
The Signature Theatre is a great example of a successful organization
with a powerful mission and vision. With all the stages that the Theatre has
gone through, yet it stuck to its mission throughout the years. Believing is
another lesson that can be taken away from the case, believe and you will
succeed. Every business has its challenges, ups and downs, but giving up
shall not be an option. Being a respected yet an influential leader is not by
achieving great sales or higher profits, it is about being committed to the
values a business holds. Being a role model in every business situation and
lead by example (Callanan, Wei-Skillern, & Onayemi, 2014). As Wolfe (2011)
mentioned “One simple guideline to examine life and your own successes
and challenges is to know that everything outside of yourself is a reflection
of what is happening inside” (p. 113).

31SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
Appendix 3
Core Skills, Competencies, and Capabilities of Your Capstone Organization
Recommendations and Impacts
KIA Motors is the second largest manufacturer of automobiles in South Korea and has an
annual sales figure of nearly 3.3 million cars. The shareholders of the company along with the
employees of the organization participates in the decision making process of the company which
helps them to achieve success in the market (Bendle, Farris, Pfeiffer, & Reibstein, 2016).
However like most of the companies, KIA Motors also faces a number of adversities that affect
the operational performance or tends to decrease their performance over the time-being. In this
following discussion a number of recommendations have been provided to help the company
overcome the issues and increase their percentage of success.
The first and foremost issue is the inconsistent and abrupt payment of wages to the
employees by the management of the organization. The low payment of wages does not help the
cause of the employees and makes them de-motivated. The management of the organization has
also failed to formulate a proper reward system for the employees. Reward system helps the
employees to be recognized and makes them more dedicated towards their work. This is in sharp
contrast to the policy followed in Trader Joe’s which is one of the largest supermarkets of Unites
States (US). Their main policy is to make sure that the employees are paid much more than their
expectations from other rivals in the market (Giles, 2014). The employees are given the most
importance in every regards and the company also has a policy that allows 15.4% of their pay to

32SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
their retirement funds. KIA Motors can take a leaf out of the following policy and encompass
such similar policies in their organizational framework.
In sharp contrast to the supplier management policy of KIA Motors, Trader Joe’s follows a
proper supplier management policy that helps the company to have an efficient relationship with
the suppliers. This helps them to control the prices of the raw materials and decrease the
operating cost of the company. The following policy thus needs to be implemented by the
management of KIA Motors to make the organization more profitable.
Trader Joe’s has a successful marketing plan in place that has been able to provide huge
success to the organization (Giles, 2014). The flyer program (which they call it the “Fearless
Flyer”) of the organization and its reach in far off places has helped it to promote itself in a much
better way. KIA Motors have failed in this particular area and thus it needs to implement a
similar program to be able to create a stronghold in the market. For example, it can include more
and reasonable information for customers about the different services they provide, after sale
service, or even car accessories.
SMART Framework
SMART Framework is the acronym for Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant and
Time Based goals and objectives taken up by any person or an organization. The
recommendations provided in the above mentioned part of the discussion can be well measured
by the SMART Framework.
1. Specific - The issues identified are surely specific as they do not tend to deviate from the
main issue and describe the actual set of problems that are generally faced by the
organization (Dasgupta & Hart, 2015). The wage problem of the employees is one of the

33SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
main issues and directly shows the condition of the employees in KIA Motors. The
identification of such issues are very much important for the management to operate the
business smoothly.
2. Measureable - The issues are measurable as problems can be identified and measured
according to their importance. The problems with wages, supplier problems, lack of
proper policies and most importantly the flyer management policy can be measured to
determine the difference of the company with that of the other organizations especially
with that of Trader Joe’s.
3. Attainable - The recommendations that are provided above can be attainable. The
management of KIA Motors needs to change their policies and must make an immediate
amendment to the wages of the employees to bring it at par with the industry standards.
The company being the second largest automobile manufacturer of South Korea will have
no such problems in increasing the wage given a wise implementation of the policy with
a minimum effect on the operational cost.
4. Relevant - The relevance of the recommendations cannot be neglected as the modern
market demands innovation and dynamic policies like the one’s implemented by
organization like Trader Joe’s to attain success. The reward system, wage increments,
efficient management policies are all relevant to the organization and must be
implemented in a proper way (Bocken et al. 2014).
5. Time Based - Time management is a must for the organization as the policies needs to be
implemented in the correct time to gain success. Implementation of the policies
accordingly is the key to success for KIA Motors.
Metrics Designed For Recommendations

34SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
Metrics is one of the most important tasks of the management as such a measurement
helps the organization to get a clear idea on the actual progress of the organization after
implementing the recommendations. Two of the main metrics that needs to be implemented
includes;
1. Salary Structures - The management of KIA motors can take a leaf out of the success
story of Trader Joe’s and implement a proper wage structure for all the employees of the
organization. The wage structure of the company must be unbiased and according to the
marketing standards. The wage structure of the employees must be formulated by the
management of the company after consulting with the employees and carrying out a
thorough market research on the wage structure of different companies. The company
must design the structure in such a way that will offer much more benefits than other
organizations. The company must also conduct a regular review of the employees and
offer reward and recognition to the best amongst them.
2. New Sessions with Employees - The management of the company must conduct new
sessions for the employees to make them accustomed to different CRM policies and also
train them the necessary skills that are needed to manage the organization.
3. Marketing Management - The absence of a proper marketing management has been the
weakness for KIA Motors for a long time. It is important to hire able and skilled
managers and supervisors to take care of the marketing needs of the organization.
4. Experience of the brand – Advanced technology that can introduce the customer to a vast
new overall experience by creating significant value (Wolfe, 2011, p. 95). Training sale
people to understand customers’ needs and respond accordingly is a major initiative in
creating experience. For example Blue Link Telematics that is used by Hyundai in which

35SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
drivers can contact the service organization directly from the vehicle to schedule
maintenance appointment or request roadside assistance.
Importance of Proposed Matrics
Salary Structures - A proper salary structure of the organization will help the company to achieve
the commitment and trust of the employees. If the employees are paid well they will feel
motivated and will increase their work efficiency and performance, which in turn will increase
the operational efficiency of the organization (Sheth & Sisodia, 2015).
New Sessions - The interactive sessions of the employees will help in better communication and
coordination amongst the managers and the employees. The employees will be trained according
to the latest CRM techniques.
Marketing Management - The recruitment of skilled managers will help the management to
concentrate on formulating a proper marketing and promotional plan for the organization. This
may include the use of innovative advertisements, dynamic sales policies and many more as
such.
Experience of the Brand - The experience will add in the perceived value the customer receives
from buying KIA automobiles, and this perceived value will add to the overall revenue they will
receive (Wolfe, 2011).
Identification of the Data Needed
The metrics must be identified and measured in a proper and efficient way as it is directly
related to the success of the business organization. The data that will be needed for such a
measurement must be collected from reliable and proved sources. This includes the records of

36SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
the customer feedbacks and the employee grievance cell records (Giles, 2014). Apart from this
the management can also collect necessary information from the resume as well as the
academicals and practical qualification of the organization. The qualification records of the
employee help the management to get an idea of the skills and capabilities of the employee. The
data identified by the organization must be genuine as inappropriate information will lead to the
failure of the marketing plan of the organization.
Process to Collect Data
Proper and efficient data is utmost important to the success of the business and thus the help
of a number of different processes including quantitative and qualitative must be taken to gather
information. The quantitative data will be collected from a number of different survey findings
which will be conducted by an independent organization appointed by the management of KIA
Motors. On the other hand the thematic analysis will be completed after the completion of the
secondary data analysis. The analysis of the secondary information will be done after analyzing
some case studies and journals related to the same. The secondary as well as the primary data are
important sources to properly conduct a research on curving out marketing strategies for the
organization. The proper combination of both the analysis will help to complete the process of
data collection.
Potential Challenges
Some of the potential challenges that will be faced by the organization during the
implementation of the following marketing metrics are as follows;
1. The management of KIA Motors has not been able to establish itself with a strong brand
name and thus it lacks the proper management policies. As mentioned in the metrics there

37SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
must be a strong centralized managerial structure. The strong centralized managerial
structure will transform the total structure of the company including the lower level of
management and thus, even the management of the showrooms will have transparency
and excellent feedbacks (Joyce & Paquin, 2016)
2. The absence of a proper branding policy will hurt the company to fix its management
policies. There are no such training programs in place for the employees of the
organization. Training programs for both the newcomers and on job trainings will be hard
to implement as establishment of such programs will involve an increase in the
operational cost of the organization; which in turn will force the management to increase
the price of the cars. According to Ortiz‐de‐Mandojana & Bansal (2016) this may lead to
a fall in the sales figures of the company. The company is already struggling to meet the
target of the sales figures and any such policies will adversely affect them.
3. Absence of multicultural dimensions in the organization may create problems during
international expansion of the business. The presence of employees from different
cultural backgrounds may lead to problematic situations in the workplace.

38SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
Appendix 4
Stakeholder and General Force Analysis for KIA Motors
Actionable Recommendations and Impacts
Three major recommendations for actions are developed for KIA Motors that can assist
the company in attaining its strategic objectives along with sustaining its business growth
(Arendt, 2015). However, it can also be said that there are certain vital differences between KIA
Motors and Tesla Case that can have impact in the developed recommendations. It has been
observed from analyzing the case of Tesla that there are certain differences in the challenges
faced by these two companies (Applegate, 2008). Tesla is observed to deal with concerns related
to affected success of its Model S electric vehicle; and facing competition from other major
competitors due to its failed attempts in developing driverless cars and testing EVs (Cain, Cross
& Seigel, 2017). On the other hand, opposing the case of Tesla, KIA Motors is dealing with
issues related with globalization challenges. The company is dealing with the challenge of less
successful innovation in the segments of developing eco cars, sub-compact crossover vehicles
and capacity constraints. Based on such issues certain effective recommendations are provided to
KIA Motors in order for it to attain sustainable advantage in the global automobile market
(Chaffey, 2015). These three major recommendations are explained below:
 Improving global performance with an effective HR strategy - KIA Motors is
recommended to enhance its performance through developing effective employee
engagement strategy. This strategy can facilitate in enhancing employee morale as well
as dealing with increased rate of employee turnover. The company must focus on putting
this strategy in place through implementing innovative policies and practices aimed at

39SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
enhancing employee engagement (Khan, Mahmood, Safdar, Khan, & Khan, 2016).
Moreover, KIA Motors is also recommended to focus on encouraging positive behavior
to all its employees. This can further facilitate the company in supporting the strategy of
“raising the competencies as international maker in all the areas”. Execution of such
strategy must consider improving at least 10% of the survey feedback scores for the
behaviors of line managers with respect to communication along with quality of appraisal
feedback (Rigas, Ramchurn & Bassiliades, 2015). Other strategy within this
recommendation that must be considered by the company includes; decreasing employee
turnover employment costs, for instance, recruitment expenses decrease by 10% every
year (Madsen & Rodgers, 2015). New employee recognition programs must be
developed by the company that can consider offering exceptional rewards to its
employees along with “KIA Thank You” cards for attaining exceptional job performance.
 Effective sales strategy in attaining sustainable success - Effective sales strategy must be
developed by KIA Motors in order to achieve successful market expansion of its new car
models (Madsen & Rodgers, 2015). Before selling its products in the global market, it
must take into consideration having a detailed understanding of local buyers along with
their needs. New and modified models must be launched by the company in order to
obtain increased target consumer attention. While selling its products in the international
market, the company must make sure that it conducts overall evaluation of the market
conditions. KIA Motors needs to ensure the amount of money that the consumers have
agreed to pay after the purchase of its car models (Rao, 2018). As KIA Motors is dealing
with intense competition from its business rivals, it is recommended to maintain a proper
balance between its consumers, process and the organization. In selling its car models,

40SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
KIA Motors must implement a competitive pricing policy for the reason that its product
process remains marginally identical to the cars offered by its rival organizations. The
company must focus its attention on its sales figure in comparison to its profits; as it must
consider the golden rule that higher volume might result in increasing profits (Rigas, et
al., 2015).
 Developing effective supply chain strategy in meeting the new market needs - For
achieving effective market expansion, KIA Motors is recommended to enhance its
production capacity. This can be done through developing short and medium term new
model plans. The automobile company is recommended to introduce new and improved
B-segment SUV’s that can be a successful cross-over style hybrid. The company must
focus in serving a wide range of international market using its full capacity (Roh, Yang,
Park, & Hong, 2015). This can be attained by having an effective and widespread
distribution channel to offer their services and sell their cars. This must encompass
dealers and distributors based services spread all across the world. The company must
also hire highly efficient workforce and have them trained with product selling skills
(Rothaermel & Zimmer, 2014). For making the supply chains highly efficient and
competitive, KIA Motors must make sure that its cars are easily available at numerous
showrooms; and can be booked through online auto shopping portals (Shepherd &
Vardiman, 2016). Through making its supply chain effective it can enter emerging
economies where Tesla is already operating in order to fill the gaps in its product
offerings (Rothaermel & Zimmer, 2014).
Metrics Designed For Recommendations

41SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
Two related along with measurable metrics for each recommendations offered to KIA
Motors in measuring its improvement or progress in the global market are provided. These
valuable metrics will facilitate the company in measuring the performance of all its implemented
strategies (Wakene, 2016). The measurable metrics will be well defined, measurable,
communicated properly all through the organization. It will also serve to be important in
attaining the company’s strategies and being applicable within the line of business (Porter,
1983). Two measurable metrics for each recommendation focused on improving KIA Motors
performance is explained below:
 Improving global performance with an effective HR strategy - Two most effective
metrics that can be employed in evaluating the success of KIA Motors employee
engagement strategy includes carrying out surveys and supervising the employee
productivity (Cain, et al., 2017). Employee surveys can reveal facts about employee
perceptions, job satisfactions along with their overall engagement. This metric will
evaluate whether the employees are aware of individual value to the team, and are
interested in advancing within the company. Employee engagement can be measured by
KIA Motors through examining team along with individual productivity. Using a goal
setting software, business leaders will have an insight regarding the ways in which
employees are contributing towards organization wide aspiration (Cain, et al., 2017).
 Effective sales strategy in attaining sustainable success - Performance of KIA Motors
sales strategy can be evaluated by employing certain measurable metrics. This includes
reviewing the actual sales objectives and goals and recognizing performance gaps
between actual outcomes and sales goals (Khan et al., 2016). To check whether the
original goals and objectives are addressed by the company’s sales team, the company

42SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
must measure whether the sales team is effectively increasing the quality of consumer
service. Checking whether the sales team is achieving the revenue based objectives of the
company that will result in increasing prospective and cold calling. Another measurable
metric focuses on explaining the ways in which sales target is attained or overachieved
for its newly launched eco-friendly cars (Khan et al., 2016). For instance, KIA Motors
can measure sales goals through assessing increased sales of eco-friendly cars by 15% at
the end of the fourth quarter (Chowdhury, 2014). Moreover, effectiveness of sales
strategy can also be analyzed by determining the financial and sales reports for eco-
friendly cars in comparison to the previously set sales goals.
 Developing effective supply chain strategy in meeting the new market needs - These
metrics can prove to be effective in measuring the performance of KIA Motors supply
chain strategy (Liu, Kong, Liu, Peng, & Wang, 2015). Two major performance metrics
include cycle time and consumer service level analysis. Efficiency and less time used by
the supply chain in transforming the raw material into a final product, and the time taken
in reaching such products to the consumers can measure the success of its supply chain
strategy. Consumer service level metrics can also be used in order to analyze the order fill
rate, stock out rate, backorder level along with analysis of on-time delivery probability.
Maximizing the level of these factors can indicate improved consumer service (Liu et al.,
2015). Decreased lead times and optimized inventory levels can indicate improved
consumer service.
Types and Process of Collecting Data

43SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
The data that is needed in order to improve performance and implement employee
engagement strategy are; turnover patterns, absence levels, performance matrics, exit surveys,
employee grievances, audit assessments, and claims of bullying and harassment. Then
benchmarking these information against other comparable automobile companies can form a
powerful picture.
In order to have a data driven sales strategy, KIA shall use sales enablement technologies
that is targeted to align marketing processes and goals and then support sales teams with the tools
and details needed to improve sales execution; and further drive revenue. Sales managers can use
dashboards to visualize trends and gain valuable insights into sales rep activity. In implementing
such technologies the company will be having the tool in place to collect trusted, accurate, and
meaningful data. Therefore, investing money in such technologies will boost sales, will help
average performers improve, and will empower sales team with the right tools to complete their
job efficiently.
The data the needs to be collected to have an effective supply chain includes all units
such warehousing, distribution, production/assembly, procurement, transportation, customer
service, and accounting. To have all the data needed from all units, KIA must implement what is
called a Warehouse Management System (WMS) which enables them to increase operational
efficiency, reduced costs, and improved labor productivity. This will further reduce errors which
originates from manual data entry, and will provide accurate view needed to make operational
improvements and achieve an effective supply chain strategy in place.
Potential Challenges

44SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
The likely challenges that can be faced by KIA Motors in implementing the recommendations
and matrics are explained below:
In implementing the recommended strategy of modifying supply chain, KIA Motors
might deal with certain challenges related to cost control, planning and risk management (Wolfe,
2011). The company will experience higher operating cost while developing its supply chain for
attaining competitive advantages (Cain, et al., 2017). Another challenge that might be dealt by
the automobile company is that certain risks might be available such as in global sourcing, new
product launches and credit availability in safeguarding the intellectual property. Such risks must
be recognized and quantified for controlling and dealing with them.
Certain challenges might also be faced by KIA Motors in implementing the sales strategy
within the company. Such challenges can consider that the sales team of the company might get
caught up within the intricacies of the decided strategy (Wakene, 2016). For this reason, they
might fail to take into account certain major aspects related with developing a successful sales
team. Moreover, lack of transparency in the sales team regarding sales objectives might generate
chances of favoritism along with fostering an efficient relationship between the management and
sales team of KIA Motors.
Some challenges can be faced by KIA Motors in implementing employee engagement
strategy as a part of better human resource plan. Such challenges include establishment of
appropriate metrics and dealing with inconsistent engagement level of managers in distinct level
(Rakita, Madić & Marković, 2017). In case the managers involved in implementing the strategy
within KIA Motors are not trained properly, the employee engagement strategy might get
implemented inconsistently that might result in employee disengagement and mistrust. Moreover

45SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
in case suitable metrics is not developed, attainment of short term and long term skills
advancement among the employees might get difficult. Failure to generate a system that
distinguishes the high performers from average ones might result in increased number of
employees getting highly rated in comparison to their performance merits.
SMART Framework
SMART Framework shall be implemented in KIA Motors Company in order to manage
performances, developmental purposes along with carrying out personal analysis. Smart
objectives set for KIA Motors that can facilitate in attaining sustainable advantages for the
company (Fritz & Tessmann, 2018).
 Specific - KIA Motors must have an objective of energy efficient eco-friendly cars that
can provide tough competition to its business rivals like Tesla or Toyota that offers
successful hybrid car models (Rothaermel & Zimmer, 2014).
 Measurable - This objective is measurable for the reason that it can observe the growth of
sales of its newly launched eco-friendly cars in the global market (García-Villalobos,
Zamora, San Martín, Asensio, & Aperribay, 2014). Measuring the efficiency of the cars
based on its CO2 emissions, performance of its combustion engine and electronic motor
hybrid system.
 Attainable - This objective is achievable through employing the research and
development team of the company and developing an eco-friendly passenger car. The
company will also be effective as it will have fuel, bio-fuel, and hydrogen fuel cells
(Jongejan, 2014).

46SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
 Realistic - Development of an eco-friendly automobile and launching it in global market
will serve to be a realistic objective as it can enhance environmental performance through
having features like faster acceleration along with enhanced image.
 Time Bound/ Time Effective – Time effective advantages can be achieved by KIA
Motors in increasing company profits along with attaining objective of sustainable
mobility (Jussani, Heer, Ibusuki, & de Moura Côrtes, 2015). This is for the reason that
the company will offer certain time bound advantages such as fuel efficiency along with
maximum cabin space and compact design along with timely service delivery.
Appendix 5
Five-Forces and Blue Ocean Strategy Analysis for Your Organization
Actionable Recommendations and Impacts
KIA Motors is the second largest automobile manufacturer in South Korea with annual
sales of 3.3 million vehicles. The company has achieved success just because of the coordination
between the employees and the shareholders of the business. The decision making process of the
company is dependent on both the employees and the shareholders. However there are some
specific actions that need to be implemented by the management of the organization to achieve
the desired results and stay sustainable for the coming future (Wells, 2017).
1. The company must study the example of Apple and focus on research and development
activity. Engaging in research and development will help the organization to create a
value for their products (Upward & Jones, 2016). The company must design and develop
new cars and vehicles that are rich in their design and user experience. Like Apple which

47SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
has created a brand culture by attracting customers who identifies the brand value of their
products, innovativeness, and simplicity; the company must also create and maintain a
brand value of their own. Adopting the following measures will help the organization to
create a brand value of their own and help them to achieve a competitive advantage in the
market (Rawson, Duncan, & Jones, 2013).
2. Marketing and sales has been a problem for KIA motors in case of international
expansion. The company must preserve confidentiality while the development phase of
its new products to increase the desirability and curiosity in the market (Rothaermel,
2014). KIA can also use the Teaser Marketing Campaign that involves the leakage of
some of the features of the new product before the launch of the product. KIA can also
adopt strategic alliance of Apple which can be of great help during international
expansion (Smink, Hekkert, & Negro, 2015).
3. The company can partner with local automobile companies to gain ground in the host
country. Partnering with local automobile or other companies will be of great help as it
will help in the creation of a brand value for the organization and will also help them to
secure a competitive advantage in the market (Kim & Mauborgne, 2004). For example,
Nike and Apple – Nike + iPod Sport Kit. The Nike iPod wireless system allows Nike
footwear users to communicate with their iPod giving them information on time,
distance, and the number of calories they have burned. This innovation was launched in
2006 and millions of people including runners use it today.
Application of Strategy Concepts
 According to Geissdoerfer, Bocken, and Hultink (2016), the management of the company
can also utilize the blue ocean strategy to improve their current condition. The

48SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
management of the organization must focus on the acts and the activities to provide a
certain leap in the motivation and business results that are driven by the people.
 The management of the mentioned company must keep a real time feedback of the state
of affairs which will help the employees to get motivated (Bohnsack, Pinkse, & Kolk,
2014).
 The proper implementation of the Blue Ocean Strategy can also help the organization to
distribute leadership abilities to different people in the management of the organization
(Rawson, Duncan, & Jones, 2013). The market of the modern days demands leaders at
every level of the management. If KIA Motors is able to distribute different leadership
tasks to the different people in the organization including the senior, middle and lower
levels of the organization, the company will be able to achieve the desired goals.
SMART Framework
SMART stands out for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and time Based
objectives that are taken up by the organization. The recommended strategies for KIA Motors
can be easily gauged by the following framework.
 Specific- The recommendations that are provided in the following report are precise in
nature as they address the issues that are currently faced by KIA Motors. The improper
use of strategies and the inability of the management to segregate leadership are among
the basic issues that needs a change (Porter, 1975). Thus, the improvement strategies
provided in the first part of the report are surely specific enough. The proper follow up to
the results are certainly beneficial for the organization in the long run.

49SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
 Measurable- The lack of dynamic strategies within the organizational structure of the
business is certainly measurable, as it helps the organization to sort out the issues
according to their chain of occurrence or the nature of importance (Bohnsack, Pinkse, &
Kolk, 2014). For example, the issue with the research and development must be
addressed by the management of KIA Motors at the earliest as such a step can ensure an
increase in their brand value. Thus the implementation of the recommended strategies
will certainly help the organization to attain a competitive edge in the market.
 Attainable- The implementation of the blue ocean strategy as well as the sustainable
strategy like the one followed by Apple can be implemented quite easily by bringing a
steady change in the management of the organization. The main change in the
organizational management can easily be achievable by means of proper allocation of the
resources and innovative promotional strategies. This is certainly achievable for a
company with the stature of KIA Motors.
 Relevant- The recommendations in this discussion are based on the sustainable strategies
of the organization and thus, the following is quite relevant with the modern time. It is
perhaps ahead of its time as it leads the organization to further success in the future.
 Time Based Objectives- Time management is key to the success of the organization, as
the implementation of the blue ocean strategy and the sustainable strategies must be
adopted by the organization in proper steps as wrong implementation of the strategies can
lead to disasters.
Matrics Designed for Recommendations
1. Research and Development- The two matrics for R&D are input “Spending” and output
“Headcount”. Each year KIA shall determine how much to reinvest in research and

50SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
development depending on the industry, the market, and its profitability. The spending of
R&D are typically measured as a percentage of its sales. For example, in recent years,
Apple’s spending on R&D has been flat since 2009 as it does not see any need for further
spending; KIA shall invest more in its R&D to reach that stage where it is producing
exactly what the customer is looking for and minor changes will be implemented each
year to keep up with the fast changing needs. An investment of 5% in the initial stage can
make a big difference in their sales and profitability. The Headcount is measured by its
people, as people can be the most expensive and acquire the largest cost in R&D budgets,
and are a key for product development capacity. The management of KIA can adopt the
strategy of Apple and introduce a separate research wing in their company to innovate
new products and develop the old ones (Galpin, Whittington, & Bell, 2015). In order to
do this, the management must employ engineers, researchers and other expert
professionals who will be in charge of the research and development process. This will
further increase their sales by approximately 15% each quarter.
2. Marketing Management- The two matrics for this recommendation is the return on
marketing investment (ROI) and incremental sales. The ROI will help determine the
department’s time, spend, and contribution to company growth. To measure this, KIA can
take in to account all the marketing spend including salaries of marketing employees and
compare it across quarterly results or half yearly results. Further, the incremental sales
address one specific question to KIA; are the marketing efforts increasing its sales, yes or
no? This matric works on evaluating the success of the targeting strategy. Monitoring it is
critical to make sure that the team is on track for its sales and targets, as reporting on it is
not enough. A complete overhaul of the marketing department is essential while

51SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
employing the best persons can solve the crisis that KIA currently faces. Adopting new
marketing strategies to arise curiosity for their products is essential (Evans et al., 2017).
For example, people tend to change their cars every 3.5 years and the average product life
cycle of KIA cars is 3 years; at this point KIA shall launch a fully new product that
attracts new customers, retain current ones, and include limited edition models.
Delivering quality cars and services that shall be recognized by the media and the
customers.
3. Partnering- The two main matrics for this recommendation is finding the right fit and
setting objectives. Finding a good brand match is very important as they should share the
same brand values of KIA. Further, the partner should have and target the same audience
that have similar profiles to KIA, and more importantly offer new ways to reach
audiences. KIA can partner with a company that has a good market share and efficient
level of customer service. Such partnership shall enhance the reputation of both brands.
For example, KIA can partner with Apple using Siri as an intelligent personal assistant to
drivers, navigator, answer questions, make recommendations of nearest stores etc. This
can be measured by surveying people randomly and assessing countenance. People love
technology and the implementation of such in KIA cars with collaboration from Apple
will enhance its sales strategy, increase profitability, brand awareness, and overall
reputation. The second matric of setting clear objectives when partnering is very essential
for the success of partnering. KIA must be clear what they want out of this partnership.
To get the buy-in of various stakeholders within the organization, proposing the benefits
shall be compelling given the returns/results; for example, the main objective is to
increase brand exposure, deepening customer loyalty, attracting new customers, and

52SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
opening up new channels of communication. Nike + iPod campaign was directed to brand
awareness with all the pre-marketing using YouTube videos to complement their
marketing campaign. It was more than just selling a sports shoes, it was selling
aspirations. This has helped Nike become a globally recognized brand (Cendrowski,
2012).
Further, the management must focus on their acts and actions and implement new strategies that
are much more realistic and helps to provide real time information on daily progress. The
implementation of contemporary business ideas and measuring the daily metrics can help to
create motivation. The distribution of leadership must start with the senior level managers and
there must be a policy for allocation of leadership to various people in a single department
(Bocken, Rana, & Short, 2015). The management of the organization must conduct regular
review sessions with the different leaders to make sure that the operations of each and every
department are running smoothly and towards the organizational goals.
Importance of Proposed Metrics
1. Research and development - Research and development is utmost necessary for the
organization to make sure that they are addressed accordingly to make use of the best in
the class. The recruitment of able employees in the different departments is necessary for
contemporary changes and innovation.
2. Marketing Management - The appointment of the right people having experience in the
market is necessary for implementing revolutionary marketing techniques and bringing

53SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
drastic managerial changes. This will include innovative marketing and promotion to
arise curiosity among the customers.
3. Partnership - Partnering with different other local companies in host countries will be of a
real help to the organization as such a unique partnership will help in the formation of a
competitive advantage in the market of the host country.
4. Acts and Actions - KIA must concentrate on the acts and actions that it does. Such an
action will help the employees to be dedicated towards their work.
5. Leadership Distribution - Selecting new and able leaders in each of the departments and
providing them with different responsibilities can help to reduce the load of a single
person. Creating multiple leaders can help to take the correct decisions at the correct
time.
6. Real-time Feedback - Different real time feedback processes must be implemented rather
than relying on reports of monthly or quarterly basis. The real time inputs helps to gauge
the performance of the employees and bring changes accordingly.
Types of Data Needed
The identification of the various data of the organization needs to be done in an organized
manner so that the information collected is genuine in nature. The data should be collected by
gathering the marketing statistics and sales figures of the organization. The following statistics
and the data should be analyzed properly and strategies should be fixed accordingly. The
analysis of the results will help in the identification of the areas where the organization needs
improvement. The management of the organization must also check the skill levels of the

54SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
employees by seeing the employee records and amending them accordingly (Elliott, Roche,
Reddy, & Brar, 2017). The main parts of the research will include the qualification results of the
employees and the other necessary results that are needed by the management to utter new
changes to the management of the organization. The data can also be identified after gathering
different information from the customers as well as the employees of KIA Motors. The
management of KIA Motors can also have a look into the different models followed by
organizations like Apple to ensure the success of the business in the long run. Proper and
effective data is thus the key to the success of the following organization (Beske, Land, &
Seuring, 2014).
Process of Collection Data
As mentioned in the earlier part proper and accurate data is the key to the success of the
organization as it helps the management to ensure success of the company. After the
identification of the data from different authentic sources, the company management must collect
them and analyze them accordingly to implement them as early as possible (Breuer & Lüdeke-
Freund, 2014). This is because any late implementation can result in the increase in competition
in the market and will result in its strategic failure. The company must use both the primary as
well as the secondary analysis to complete the strategic planning. It is better for the company to
collect information from the market by appointing an independent organization that will be
responsible for collecting the primary information and providing the results to them. On the other
hand, the management of the company will have to analyze the secondary resources accordingly
to complete the collection of the information (Baldassarre, Calabretta, Bocken, & Jaskiewicz,
2017). The strategic planning can only be completed once both the results of primary and
secondary analysis are completed.

55SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
Potential Challenges and Ways of Addressing Them
1. The establishment of a separate research wing will be a huge challenge to the
organization as such an establishment will need huge resource allocation and will also
involve the recruitment of a huge number of experienced people. The recruitment process
of such a group of research members is a tough task for the management that must be
implemented without affecting the performance of current employees and business
operations. The stakeholders of the company must be well informed about the importance
of establishing a research center. The management of the company will have the
responsibility of earning the nod of the shareholders and manage to establish the research
center (Baldassarre et al., 2017). As Research and Development future benefits remain
uncertain, the input and output matrics provides the company with a clear vision of where
they are heading, what is needed to achieve their goals, the results expected, and future
projections.
2. Proving the ROI for marketing activities can be one of the utmost challenges for KIA.
With all the marketing activities the company is having from planning next campaigns
and delivering current ones, KIA might face a challenge in finding the right data that
needs to be reported on the ROI, the accuracy of the data, and the way of presenting it in
order to gain acceptance can all be a hard job to complete and earn the positive results of
the marketing activities. Brenner (2016) suggested the following steps to present the
marketing activities including; identify and include all variable and fixed costs, use
marketing generated revenue to calculate the overall marketing ROI, analyze campaign
level ROI, partnering with finance accounting team, consider fixed timeframes, use

56SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
things like Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and consider multi-touch
attribution. All these can help determine the success of any marketing campaign.
3. Changing targets in Partnership marketing can be challenging. KIA’s partner may give up
too quickly as many do which would result in losing money and reputation. Short term
focus can also be challenging as the partner may have short term tactical activities and
lack of resources to take over or map out multi quarter marketing campaigns. This
challenge will also affect the ROI making the whole partnership worthless. For this, the
matrics of finding the right partner must be conducted decisively to ensure that the
partner has similar objectives, transparent, honest, and having enough resources.
4. The assignment of leadership positions to new people within the organization will be a
major challenge for the organization as such choices may lead to disputes and tension
within the department; many capable people who might not get a chance will feel
deprived which will lead to loss in motivation and higher turnover. A well designed
performance review can lead to better results and prevent such things from happening.
Further, the establishment of an open door policy for the employees will help the
organization to avoid any form of challenges and issues within the workplace. The
leaders must be open to all the employees and communicate details regularly.

57SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
Appendix 6
KSF Analysis and Potential Strategic Pathways for Your Chosen Organization
Actionable Recommendations for KIA Motors
Hiring and outsourcing of expertise:
KIA Motors can outsource its expertise to third party innovation laboratories which
would continue innovation. This would enable the South Korea automobile giant to carry out
continuous product development. This would enforce stronger product line and enable the
company to serve its international base more appropriately. Outsourcing of innovation and
expertise among the regional firms spread in different markets like Asia and Europe would
enable KIA Motors to introduce more market specific products, thus ensuring high degree of
customer satisfaction and revenue generation (Dodgson, 2018).
Strengthen its corporate image:
KIA Motors must promote its brand image in the market to strengthen its revenue
generation. The automobile manufacturer should promote its automobile products in the market
to strengthen in the international market. This would enable it to attract new firms to which KIA
Motors would be able to outsource its expertise and innovation activities. This would ultimately
enable it to strengthen its business model and create more value to the customers, thus enhancing
its sustainability (Bohnsack, Pinkse, & Kolk, 2014).
Promotion of its Unique Selling Propositions (USP):
The South Korean automobile giant should promote its premium collection of cars and
highlight their unique selling propositions. This would enable the company to attract the upper

58SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
class consumers and earn high revenue by catering to their needs, thus gaining financial
sustainability (Aghion, Dechezleprêtre, Hemous, Martin, & Van Reenen, 2016).
Differences between KIA Motors and the Case
The first point of difference between Trader Joe and KIA Motors lies in the industry
these two organizations belong. Trader Joe’s was a retailer based in the United States of America
while KIA Motors is an automobile making company based in South Korea. Thus, while Trader
Joe’s belong to the retail industry, KIA Motors was from automobile manufacturing industry
(Drucker, 2014).
This differences between Trader Joe’s and KIA in terms of operations and industries
would have different implications of applying the recommendations mention above. The first
recommendation was outsourcing of the experts and innovation staffs. Trader Joe’s being a retail
company, the innovation would mainly revolve around product line, pricing and promotion of
goods which the retail chain can make available to consumers. As far as KIA Motors is
concerned, the innovation using outsourced facilities would involve manufacturing and
marketing and not limited to marketing like the former (Zailani, Govindan, Iranmanesh,
Shaharudin, & Chong, 2015).
The difference between Trader Joe’s and KIA Motors would have difference in terms of
application of the second recommendation, strengthening of corporate image. Trader Joe’s while
strengthening corporate image would compete with international chains like Tesco. KIA Motors
in order to strengthen its brand equity would have to compete against car makers like Hyundai.
The second difference in this regard would be in terms of product (Nykvist & Nilsson, 2015).
Trader Joe’s sells goods manufactured by other consumer goods manufacturing company. Thus

59SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
while promoting its brand equity it cannot use the brand names of the products it offers because
it does not own those names. KIA Motors on other hand manufactures cars under its own brand
name and can use premium models to promote its brand equity since it owns the intellectual
property rights of those brand names.
The difference between Trader Joe’s and KIA Motors would have different implication in
case of the third recommendation using of USP. The USP of Trader Joe’s would have its huge
variety of products while in case of KIA Motors, its USP would be cars using advanced
technology (Davis, Williams, Boundy, & Moore, 2016)
Two Matrics for Each Recommendation
The two matrices for measuring the success of outsourcing of innovation would include
Service Level and Total cost reduction. While matrices are important to measure the output or
results, it is fundamental in KIA’s position to measure its outsourcing initiatives based on these
two matrices. The importance of service level is for KIA to determine the types of services that
are outsourced are being provided and the minimum quantity level that is required. That is,
measuring whether the design with the implementation method of required quantity being
provided on time from the outsourcing party? The total cost reduction depends on KIA’s goal of
outsourcing, if the outsourcing goal as I have mentioned earlier is to carry out exclusive and
continuous product development, then the total cost reduction matrics would help KIA see
whether the total cost of actually designing the car is reduced yes or no? Or have the cost of
hiring experts for innovation and product development been decreased? Etc. There is a massive
need for KIA to involve external actors through open innovation activities leading to superior
performance in the automotive market (Ciravegna, Romano, & Pilkington, 2013).

60SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
There are three yardsticks of measurement to strengthen corporate image including social
media tools, brand name (reputation and awareness), and market position. These three matrices
are very important and challenging at the same time. Social media usage can help KIA increase
brand awareness, receive product feedbacks, bolster dealership traffic, etc. The key performance
indicators of social media are Fan Growth; in which KIA can determine the increase in fans
during a specific period of time, the Engagement Rate; likes, comments, and shares that users
make, Response Rate; could include users posts or questions that are answered to by KIA, and
User Activity; identifying the times and days of the weeks in which users are most engaging.
Further, using the social media tools can help KIA in enhancing its brand name’s reputation and
awareness, for example, publish car information, new models, etc when users are most active,
encourage users to share the posts, and consistent publishing is vital. This will have a direct
correlation with an increase in the price of cars for KIA. For example, in 2012 the automotive
brand with strongest brand name was Ferrari (Staff Writer, 2013). Once these two matrices are
fulfilled, market positioning will be easier to determine, for example, what will then be KIA’s
point of difference apart from competitors, is it its design that is attracting the customers? The
features? The service? Etc. This will help KIA monitor its position in the market through its
different and innovative offerings.
The two matrics of USP for KIA Motors would be Superior Quality and Exclusive Rights
(Takeuchi & Quelch, 1983). Quality is the most important in automotive industry, it is regarded
as the number one reason for chosen cars. According to the authors, surveys from customers in
the U.S. notes that they perceiving a decline in the quality of U.S. cars compared to that
imported, gives KIA an indication of a new market and an international expansion being a
Korean automotive manufacturer. Korean cars are known for better features, drive pretty well,

61SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
represent a great value, and nevertheless hold together for long periods with less maintenance
compared to U.S. cars. This will help the company target new markets, retain existing markets,
and increase its profitability. Exclusive rights however, is an important part to KIA’s USP, all car
dealers are now competitive in this part, they all have five years’ service warranty for example,
but this service warranty does not really cover the most expensive parts of the car like batteries
or brakes etc. Adding exclusive rights different than competitors will have customers buy from
KIA.
Importance and Appropriateness of Proposed Matrics
 The importance of service level agreement between KIA and the outsourcing company
records expectations of both sides and provides targets for measuring the performance
against the initial objectives.
 Total cost reduction is an important element for KIA to look at, as an amount of the
manufacturing process is outsourced and usually the outsourcing party does the work
more efficiently as it is specialized in it. Further, KIA will achieve a reduction in
headcounts or reduce the staff fluctuations that might occur due to changes in demand for
their cars. It will also reduce the workload of its employees to achieve a good and happy
working environment.
 Social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram will help KIA reach a larger
audience, understand its audience, and serve them accordingly. It would also keep up to
the social engagement and build brand awareness and good reputation.
 Market positioning is essential in having KIA achieve a competitive advantage in selling
its cars. Positioning will help KIA in creating an image of its products in the minds of

62SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
customers and a greatest influence on their buying decisions. It will enable the company
to make their cars easy to buy through effective positioning thereby having the cars sold
easily.
 Quality being an integral part in the production process, KIA will gain customers’ trust
and loyalty. They will be able to meet customers’ expectations, managing their reputation
as poor quality results in recall campaigns which would create negative publicity and
damage the product’s reputation (Linton, 2018). Further, when speaking of automotive
industry, KIA has to meet the industry standards, accredited quality control systems are
important in complying with those standards. Achieving superior quality means reducing
costs as poor quality or ineffective quality control systems will result in paying cost of
nonconforming goods to determine the root cause.
 It is always important for KIA to know what distinguishes it from others in the
automotive industry, what makes them better. By having exclusive rights to customers,
they will definitely remember the brand, reputation, and the marketing strategy will be
stronger. Having a clear USP will result in good branding as KIA will have a clear
message of what they are delivering to their customers.
Types of Data Needed
KIA can use different types of data in order to apply the proposed recommendations
along with their matrices. For outsourcing, the company shall identify different vendors in order
to choose one from them. Information on each vendor is required along with their agreements
whether they fulfill the requirements of KIA or not. Business reputation of vendors shall be

63SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
identified, the cost and the confidentiality are important for KIA before making a decision on
which vendor to go with.
The corporate image of the company would be revealed by market analysis and surveying
customers. The value of corporate image is measured in the value of its brand as it represents the
entire corporate structure, stakeholders input is required, staff, and customers. Questions to
answer would include 1. Current perception of the company, why? What makes it different from
other competitors in the market? Strengths and weaknesses identified from customers’ point of
view as well as internal employees. What do you think KIA could do to gain more business? Etc.
In order to promote a USP, KIA shall conduct an industry research to know what else is
available for the customers, which includes in-depth analysis of each of the competitors. What
selling points do these competitors promote? Prospect research is mandatory as KIA sells to
customers and their reviews is an essential feedback to the future strategy. This will give KIA an
overall idea of what the market thinks in order to pattern its products. Customer research and
product research are important as customers are the main source of information about KIA’s
products and services. Product research will give KIA the data needed in regards to what areas
are its customers most satisfied in its products? What are the weaknesses? Also, employees could
use the cars and come back with a feedback on how it is working. Putting in all these information
together and analyzing it will provide KIA with the information needed to promote its USP.
(Connick, 2017)
Collection of Data
Most of the information on vendors can be collected online. With nowadays technology
all information before outsourcing to a specific vendor, checking their websites, and reviews will

64SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
be sufficient to collect the above mentioned data. Further, the company can conduct a primary
research and call in the different vendors and request a portfolio including all their activities and
services.
In order to obtain the data needed on corporate image, KIA can conduct a qualitative research
including face to face in focused groups of 8 respondents, as well as quantitative research such as
brand awareness surveys in which respondents choose from 1 through 5 on a satisfaction score.
Qualitative research will yield greater depth of information and more insights that can then be
verified by the quantitative research.
For KIA to collect the information proposed for the USP, primary research is required to collect
the industry information, prospect research on customers who buy from the industry, customer
research, and product research. Surveys and questionnaires can be used to collect such
information. This will help the company create a unique selling proposition that will then be
shared with prospect customers, add it to employees emails, and have it around in all marketing
initiatives.
Challenges Associated with Recommendations
The following are the challenges which and KIA Motors would have to face while
implementing the three recommended courses of action namely, outsourcing of research and
development, strengthening of corporate image and promoting of their unique selling
propositions:
Bureaucratic control and delay in decision making:
KIA Motors would face challenges in adopting recommended strategies like outsourcing
their R&D due to their complex bureaucratic structure. It is evident that KIA have several

65SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
branches each under a different branch head. KIA Motors operates in America, Europe, Mexico
and India. This means that these subsidiaries have their own apex management which consist
senior executives like director. Moreover, Hyundai is a shareholder of KIA Motors and the
company also present in the defense sector. This complex operation and management structure
make decision like outsourcing of R&D to conduct open innovation under third party firm very
lengthy processes. Moreover, outsourcing decision create panic and insecurity among employees
and they may resist the changes. Thus, tall structure and complex bureaucratic control result in a
difficult and complex decision making (Gupta, Malhotra, Czinkota, & Foroudi, 2016).
Macroeconomic structure:
The macroeconomic conditions have strong impacts on the adoption of strategies like
promotion of brand names and outsourcing of R&D and often challenge their effectiveness. The
political conditions play important role in the business of foreign companies since they have to
operate in several countries. For example, national governments of countries may provide
facilities like tax deductions and loans at concessional rates to their resident companies to
promote them. The foreign companies like KIA Motors are often deprived from these facilities
and often have to pay more taxes in foreign companies (Zhang, Kandampully, & Bilgihan,
2015).
Diversity in the economic and technological advancements in different markets impact
the efficiency of the R&D outsourcing. Markets like the US and India are developed and have
their own resident automobile companies some of which are international in scale of operations.
KIA Motors can enter into open innovation with the automobile companies and outsource these
departments to speed up new product development. However, markets like Africa may not be
developed and cannot provide the outsourcing facilities for the R&D operations. Thus, rate of

66SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
economic development in different markets challenge adoption of the stated recommendations
(Vargo, Wieland & Akaka, 2015).
Deteriorating political relationships prevent multinational companies from entering
markets to take advantage of R&D process. For example, KIA Motors is a South Korea based
company. South Korea have strong political ties with the US and India but not with China. Thus,
the car manufacturer can easily get access to research and development facilities of the US and
India but not China. These limitations hinder smooth new product development.
Challenges from competitors:
The presence of strong competitors pose challenge in adoption of R&D outsourcing,
brand promotion and strengthening of USP at KIA Motors. For example, as far as KIA Motors is
concerned, the automobile manufacturer has strong competitors in all its markets. The company
competes with multinational automobile makers like Ford in the US and Tata in India. Moreover,
its Asia based competitors like Toyota and Honda are present in all these markets. The
automobile engineering firms in these markets automatically give preferences to the resident
companies like Ford in the US and Tata in India. Thus, this challenge from strong competitors
impact the outsourcing of R&D of KIA Motors. Again, these companies compete for market
position, thus challenging the adoption of the other two recommendations (Johnston & Marshall,
2016).
Addressing Challenges Using Identified Matrics
Acquisitions:
KIA Motors acquire resident companies in host countries. This strategy holds true for
KIA Motors which faces stiff competition from multinational automobile companies both in its

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home country South Korea and host countries like the U.S. Acquisition of resident automobile
research and development facilities would have several positive implications. First, the company
would be able to use the resources of these subsidiaries to carry out open innovation. Second,
these acquisitions would add to the asset value of the company and attract investors. The
company would use the third party R&D facilities in the host countries thereby reducing its
costs. Such acquisitions will allow KIA find out legal ways of being eligible to get concessions
from governments. Thus, acquisition strategy would enhance KIA Motors R&D facilities, brand
enforcement and USP promotion (Vargo, Wieland & Akaka, 2015).
Promotion:
KIA Motors must promote their products and services. This would enable them to attract
new customers and maximize their revenue generation. They as a result would be able to give
more returns to their investor’s, thus by attracting more investments. This strong capital base
would enable the firm to acquire more top R&D facilities to outsource its innovations (Laeven,
Levine, & Michalopoulos, 2015).
SMART Framework
Below is the SMART framework designed based on the above mentioned
recommendations and matrics:
Specific – The three recommendations were chosen based on the perceived need for
KIA’s improvement and success in the market. The company has been identified to lack product
development which requires the need for continuous innovation. In order for KIA to do that,
outsourcing expertise has been suggested. Further, the company is in vital need to strengthen its
corporate image in the fast moving and competitive environment, thus the recommendation is

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specific as it suggests the importance of enhancing company image/reputation. The third
recommendation was selected as the company is still backward compared to other companies in
the market, and have to create a unique selling proposition that enhances its image and increase
profits. The matrics offered are specific in nature and will help KIA implement the
recommendations smoothly. They have been chosen carefully to fulfill the need of the company.
Measurable – The recommendations and matrics are certainly measurable as they will
help KIA win over competition and increase the demand for its products and services. For
example, Strengthening of its corporate image through brand awareness, social media tools, and
market positioning shall be regarded as a priority, thereby enabling it to increase its sales and
demand for its products. Further, the implementation of strategies to outsource will help it reduce
the total costs resulting in higher return to shareholders and a center point for new investors.
Attainable – The Strategies endorsed to promote the various recommendations are
discussed thoroughly and provide the guidelines to have it implemented successfully. Therefore,
they can straightforwardly be executed by ensuring the proper data is collected and analyzed as
suggested. Missing out on certain data will result in a disastrous result, therefore, following the
strategies properly and adequately ensures successful implementation and results.
Relevant – The recommendations and strategies are based on the current need of the
market in the automotive industry, having studied about different competitors and strategies used
in the automotive industry, the recommendations and strategies tend to be relevant and guarantee
a bright future for this automobile company.
Timely – As the process of implementing the above recommendations and strategies have
been identified, the time for execution is an important factor evaluating the success of each.

69SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
Therefore, KIA shall be responsive and aware of the time frames required to undertake each
strategy for the benefit of the organization, suppliers, vendors, stakeholders, and customers.

70SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
Appendix 7
What Is the Strategy That Your Playbook Is Designed to Support?
Introduction
Business strategy refers to the way the firm is going to adapt in order to be self-sustained in the
market. This discussion analyses the strategy used by KIA Motors to penetrate the market in the
automobile industry. KIA Motors is a manufacturing company for vehicles based in South
Korea. It began in 1944 as a bicycle producing company up to 1952 where it was renamed KIA
industries.
The company launched its first car in 1974 since then it has continued to produce more new
brands through its continuous research and development efforts. Currently, the company is
having many outlets in most of the countries around the globe due to its competitive edge in the
car industry. The organization has maneuvered through turbulent times economically which has
seen it rise to its current position as 69th in inter-brand Best Global Brands 2016. The company
has remained relevant on the market through its efforts in ensuring consumer satisfaction, design,
and lifestyle segmentation which provide assurance of safety (Mandal & Joshi, 2017). KIA
Motors has been successful in business through their targeted strategy in providing reasonable
pricing, product quality, continuous invention of new vehicles, strategic product portfolios for
different consumer groups, and improved features on the goods to suit customer tastes and
preferences all over the world.
Recommended KIA Motors Wide-Strategy
The name that the management of the company has decided to use is “DESIGN KIA” The name
emphasizes on production of unique features that are going to make the product likeable and

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differentiated in the market (Kanter, 2014). The company therefore has adopted the strategy in
order to change the customer’s perception of their products. This strategy will enable KIA
Motors to remain on the look in order to produce in line with consumer shifting needs in terms of
designs (Saif, 2015). Therefore, the management will ensure there is enough allocation of funds
to research and development as well as product innovation in order to achieve this long-term
goal being a top five company in the automobile industry within five years.
The automobile is pursuing the goal of becoming the top five in manufacturing new brand cars.
For the firm to achieve the objective above, it has channeled its efforts in increasing their market
share, both retail and fleet, enter the corporate fleet sector and sell over 100,000 cars yearly. The
firm has apportioned the objective into four critical focus areas to enable it achieve the goal
efficiently. The areas include delivery of quality cars and services to be recognized by their
customers. Another area is building a compelling and differentiated product brand in order to be
a leading brand in the market (Puška, 2013). The third area is continuous research to enable the
company introduce new makes in the market as the needs of various consumers keep changing
from time to time. The approach enables the organization to remain relevant in the market
despite the market dynamics. In the course of doing this, they tend to improve customer brand
loyalty which gives the organization a competitive advantage. The last area of focus for the
entity is on the product and price mix. Most consumers tend to change their cars in a span of
three to four years. This consumer behavior is factored in KIA’s production strategy where it
manufactures their vehicles after every 3 years (Phillips & Hallman, 2013). Since the company
has classified its products in different grades with different range of prices, the customers are
able to choose their vehicles according to their abilities with ease. The practice is aimed at
maintaining their customers’ status (Kanter, 2014).

72SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
KIA’s current strategy is focused on brand identity which aims at moving people’s lives by
constant upgrade of its products to satisfy consumer needs and wants (Kanter, 2014).
This will help KIA motors in changing the perception of the customers with regards to the
product that are being manufactured by them. The strategy will help the company in producing
the products that are centered towards the needs and preferences of the customers in order for the
company to be able to increase its attractiveness in the market (Varadarajan, 2015). KIA motors
lay greater emphasis on the design and the quality of the products that are available in the market
at a competitive price. This will help the company in creating a greater demand among the
customers, which will result in increasing the volume of sales as well. This will result in being
oriented towards the customers by the company so that their needs and preferences can be taken
in to consideration while the product is being manufactured.
The economies of scale that is present within the company will help them in producing the cars
at a cheaper rate due to the increase sales volume. The strategical positioning adopted by the
company will help the car company in attracting customers of different classes so that they can
also buy the product. Learning from the Weather Company case study, it is suggested that KIA
motors can promote their products by increasing the advertisements in the market so that the
level of awareness for the products can be increased within the market. The promotional
activities need to be carried out by providing the necessary information to the customers so that
they can have a better knowledge regarding the product that they want to purchase.
Components of the KIA’s Wide-Strategy
KIA Motors has been building its brand on quality and design and advantage of the 10 year
warranty period at affordable prices. KIA also tries to build upon the overall ride quality and

73SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
experience by using innovation and R&D centers. The company has fully embarked on its future
advancement through brand design and brand image (Saif, 2015). The two are crucial since they
have ability to influence customer’s loyalty as well as increasing shareholder benefits.
The brand design and image are intended to shifting consumers’ interests towards KIA products
as a result of increased loyalty; thus increasing future volumes of sales. Through continuous
research, the company is able to scan through the needs of various users of their products both
potential and actual, and therefore produce to suit such demands in future. Business success is
leveraged upon a successful scrutiny and prediction of the future. Therefore, research and
development will ensure that the company’s products remain relent in the market for a longer
period of time (Kanter, 2014).
The brand design, on the other hand ensures that the consumer of a given product is held in a
given status of honor. KIA has over time managed to produce unique designs in its product
processing in order to fulfill a given desire of uniqueness.
Relevance of the Strategy to the Company’s Future
The strategy will boost customer demand of the product which will result to increased volume of
sales. This will be achieved through creating a competitive advantage of the KIA products over
other rival in the industry. The effect will be; increased profits which will consequently lead to
the increased shareholder reward as well as availing needed funds for re-investments and
research and innovation purposes. In so doing, the company will remain a force on the market for
a long period of time. Every business that has a future is one that is consistent in its products and
always on the move to be customer oriented.

74SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
The company also will enjoy economies of scale due to continuous expansion realized from the
huge proceeds as a result of improved volume of sales. Increase in customer base gives a
company strength to move in the future with a lot of enthusiasm.
The strategy is expected to produce good results because it is realistic and is based upon the
‘SMART’ principle. The other reason why the strategy is relevant is that it is customer oriented.
It is known that the business exists to fill the gap and need to be filled in form of response to
consumer needs. Therefore, the strategy is bound to achieve success since it focuses on ensuring
that consumer needs and wants that are ever changing with time are fulfilled. The strategy is
pegged on the following analysis of the market mix;
KIA Motors endeavors to position its brand by creating an impression to its users of quality and
distinguished products. Their cars are positioned strategically to insinuate unique quality and
class. Thus, it is able to attract different classes of customers who feel they want some
recognition. As such a class of individuals needs are being fulfilled, the average class is not left
out in its production plan. They also produce vehicles to suit different classes of consumers
depending on their capabilities. In so doing, they are able to increase the market for their goods
and services. Another aspect that KIA has considered is that of price. In marketing, we define
pricing as the cost customers are willing to pay for the product or service (Williams, 2008). KIA
has allocated its pricing of its products using a given range that enables a wide variety of
consumers with different levels of income acquire the product (Slater, Hult, & Olson, 2010). The
practice is essential in increasing marketability of the product. The company also distributes its
cars in different outlets to increase market visibility and access of the products by consumers.
Other efforts that are being undertaken by the company include promotion where efforts are
channeled to increasing product awareness through advertisements which communicates to both

75SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
actual and potential customers of various stocks and new arrivals. Such a continuous flow of
information is very critical in marketing and it yields great results (Connor, 2007).
It is also important to note that, for a proper analysis of such a firm, it is paramount to look at the
SWOT analysis. KIA is one of the world’s largest automobile producing company with strong
presence in various Countries; thus making it a force to reckon. One of the weakness of the
company is in terms of global recognition. Although the firm has managed to be known in many
Countries, it is still yet to be globally recognized. There are a number of opportunities available
for KIA to explore which include the availability of gaps to be filled left by competitors, there is
still a huge market that is under-utilized and possibility of joining forces with other struggling
firms in order to penetrate their markets (Kim & Jung, 2014). One of the biggest threat for KIA
is the Japanese competitor who have saturated almost all countries and gotten their substantial
market share. (Saif, 2015). This makes it hard for the new ventures to penetrate such markets.
SMART Framework
Specific  The company needs to increase its volume of sales in the market
 This can be met by strategically planning the production of the cars
 The increase in the promotional activities will help in making the
customers aware regarding the features that the product will provide
in the market
Measurable  The profit of the company will help in measuring the number of
units that are being sold in the market
 The cash flow statements at the end of each quarter along with the
annual reports at the end of the year will help the company in
measuring the units that are sold in the market
Achievable  The company has to understand the market dynamics so that it can
help them in taking advantage of the economies of scale so that the
cost of production of the cars can be minimized
 The financial outcome of the company will increase greatly due to
the better performance of the products in the market
Relevant  This strategy is relevant as the intention of the company is to grow

76SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
and increase its sales
 The company has targeted the tight time, as the rate of inflation is
low in some of the countries that will provide better spending
capacity in the hands of the consumers to enable them purchase the
product
Time-bound  The company as of now need to set its strategies in a proper manner
so that the production of the cars can start
 After the production, they need to advertise the cars in the market so
that it can result in spreading awareness among the people regarding
the features that are present
 The promotional activities of the cars will result in increasing the
volume of sales for the company and the profits as well
Conclusion
KIA Motors being among the largest automobile companies with heavy presence across the
globe, it is necessary for the firm to invest heavily in research and development in order to
remain meaningful in the dynamics of the business. The company should properly implement the
strategic plan that will guide it as a road map to its desired destiny so that it can remain relevant
in the market. It is relevance that gives any business competitive edge compared to other rivals
and hence should be strictly implemented. The success of any business is based on its strategy
and ability to handle customers by controlling their minds. KIA Motors is bound to continuous
success due to its ability to create the image of its products in the customers mind as an item of
quality, class and unique to suit the needs of the users. This will result in increased scope as well
as volume of sales.

77SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES