Business Consultancy Project 1: United Kingdom Postal Service Analysis

This report presents a business consultancy project focusing on Tuffnells, a postal service company operating in the United Kingdom. The project begins with an executive summary and introduction to international human resource management and its benefits. It includes a situational analysis using SWOT, PESTEL, and Porter's Five Forces models to identify internal, external, and competitive environments. The report then explores strategic options using cost-benefit analysis and Porter's generic model. It includes risk assessment, stakeholder analysis, and a detailed action plan with WBS, Gantt Chart, and CPA. The aim is to provide recommendations to overcome issues related to parcel delivery efficiency, high delivery costs, and legal compliance, ultimately enhancing customer trust and business operations. The conclusion summarizes key findings and recommendations, supported by references and appendices.

Business Consultancy
Project
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Executive Summary
In today's time almost each and every company is adopting international human resources
management because through that they able to conduct their business operations and functions in
effective and successful manner. Through this numbers of benefits can be earn by an
organisation such as increase market value, customer's base, profitability ratio, sales and many
more. Tuffnells is conducting its business in postal service industry at the United Kingdom
market but they are currently facing issues in delivering parcels in proper and effective time. So
in order to overcome this issue they are planning to adopt or implement new strategies according
to which they need to hire more delivers who help in delivering packages in proper time. Along
with this they can also adopt more new strategies which can be determined through implication
of different models, theories and strategies. This will also implementation of SWOT, PESTEL
and Porter's Five Force analysis in order to determine internal, external and competitive
environment. Moreover, respective firm also conduct analysis through other models like cost
benefits and Porter's generic model because through that they able to conduct evaluation of
solution for issues. Tuffnells also develop action plan for project that include several aspects
such as WBS (Work breakdown structure), Gantt Chart, CPA and many others. By this action
plan respective company able to understand and resolve issues in effective manner.
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
Situational Analysis.........................................................................................................................4
SWOT Analysis..........................................................................................................................4
PESTEL Analysis.......................................................................................................................5
Porter's five force model.............................................................................................................6
Options.............................................................................................................................................8
Option 1:- Cost benefits model...................................................................................................8
Option 2:- Porter's generic model...............................................................................................8
Risk assessment...........................................................................................................................9
Stakeholder analysis....................................................................................................................9
Specific Project and Detailed Plan of Action................................................................................10
Aim and Objective....................................................................................................................10
Financial requirement...............................................................................................................10
Detailed Plan of Action.............................................................................................................10
Risk Assessment plan................................................................................................................14
Stakeholder analysis..................................................................................................................15
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................17
REFRENCES.................................................................................................................................19
APPENDICES...............................................................................................................................21
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INTRODUCTION
International human resource management is considered as process related to acquiring,
allocating as well as utilizing human resources at the international or global level for attaining
desire goal. International HRM is considered as interplay of main dimensions i.e. HR activities,
countries of operations and employee's type (Bass, 2019). There are several benefits which are
gain by a company through international HRM such as adopt cultural diversity, increase
customer's base, profitability ratio, market shares and many more. Organisation selected for this
report is Tuffnells which is conducting their business operations and functions in United
Kingdom market and they are operating in postal services. Respective company is facing issues
in delivering parcel efficiently so in order to overcome issues firm management may hire more
drivers as through that they can deliver parcels on time. This will also help in building customers
trust on company as well as it help in ensuing products ordered online will deliver in timely
manner. The main aim of conducting this report is to understand issues of Tuffnells and provide
them proper recommendation by analysing situations. Topics included in this report are situation
analysis through different model i.e. SWOT, PESTEL and porter's as well as it will also include
options analysis by using several models like cost benefit analysis, porter's generic model, risk
assessment and stakeholder analysis. Moreover, it will also include action plan for project which
include different tools like WBS, Gantt Chart, CPA and so on. Through these analysis proper
recommendation will be provided to respective company in order to overcome their issues.
Situational Analysis
Situational analysis is considered as analysis of internal as well as external factors of a
business unit. In respect of Tuffnells they are conducting situational analysis through different
models which are explained below:-
SWOT Analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
 Tuffnells deliver all types of parcels at
the international level (Coates and
Cottam, 2019).
 Respective company is specialist in
 In order to deliver parcels at
international level Tuffnells need to
follow strict regulations. Due to which
they also pay high delivery cost that
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delivering bulky parcels.
 Respective firm provide wide range of
delivering options such as sending
secure documents, midday services and
Saturday delivery.
impacted their budget.
 In order to survive in marketplace
Tuffnells management need to develop
new strategies.
Opportunities Threats
 Respective company can expand their
business by conducting tie up with
other E-commerce firms.
 Tuffnells offer their business services
or facilities at the local market which
help them in attracting huge customers.
 At local market there are huge
population which are not aware about
the postal services (Cottam and Coates,
2019). So that will be threat for
company because it minimise demand.
 Government conduct liberalization in
postal services that will impacted on the
company profitability ratio at domestic
level.
PESTEL Analysis
 Political factor: At United Kingdom market political situation is stable which help
Tuffnells to conduct their business operations in effective manner. There are also several
trade barriers which provide guidance as well as protect respective company from any
illegal activities. Moreover the at respective nation corruption is increasing which impact
on the system as well as policy of postal services and their several laws that affect
Tuffnells policies such as contract law.
 Economical factor: Economic condition and interest rate of United Kingdom directly
impacted on growth of respective company as well as they also get affected by financial
market (Draijer, 2020). Moreover at the UK market there is high level of unemployment
that impacted on Tuffnells operations as well as it can be opportunity for company
because they can hire more numbers of delivers.
 Social factor: This factor is considered as population of a nation because it impact on
business as it can increase or decrease the demand of products and services. Tuffnells
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offer delivery services of all types of parcels which help them in attract huge numbers of
customers. In respect of respective company they develop strategies and plans in order to
maintain connection with customers as that help in increasing business opportunities.
 Technological factor: At United Kingdom technology get changed on continuous basis
which provide opportunities to respective company to adopt new technology for
expanding business (GIAO and TRANG, 2019). Implementation of new technology also
help in improving tracking facilities of parcels which increase trust among the customers.
Moreover at respective nation by implementing new technology Tuffnells able to safe
their customers or clients data properly.
 Environmental factor: United Kingdom government develop numbers of rules,
regulation and policies in order to safe environment. In respect of respective company
they need to adopt various different options for ensuring effectiveness of environment
such as they can use recyclable packaging. Along with this firm also need to follow all
rules and regulations which are developed by UK government.
 Legal factors: At United Kingdom there are numbers of law and legislation which are
developed by government in order to provide proper guideline to different industry. In
respect of Tuffnells they need to conduct their business operations and functions
according to the legal practices. This is so because through that they can ensure that all
activities are conducted under legal perspective.
Porter's five force model
 Bargaining power of customers: In the case of Tuffnells bargaining power of
customer's is high so in order to minimise their power company management need to
build large customer's base. They also need to adopt innovation on regular basis as that
will help them in attract more and more customers and building string market base as
well as they also need to introduce new features in their system or programs in order to
build trust.
 Bargaining power of suppliers: Respective company's bargaining power of supplier is
high so in order to reduce it they need to management need to adopt effective supply
chain which have multiple suppliers (Lycko and Galanakis, 2019). Along with this
Tuffnells can also adopt new packaging strategies in order to minimise cost as well as
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they also need to maintain proper relationship with suppliers so that they deliver parcels
on time and effectively.
 Competitive rivalry: Tuffnells is operating their business at wide level due to which
they face high competitive rivalry so in order to reduce power of competitive rivalry firm
need to develop sustainable differentiation because it make them different from
competitors. They also need to evaluate performance in order to determine strategies for
gaining competitive base as well as they can also conduct collaboration with competitors.
 Threat of new entry: In respect of Tuffnells they are facing high threat of new entry so
in order to avoid this they can come up with new and innovative ideas as that make them
different from its competitors (Payne, Roden and Simister, 2019). Moreover they can also
minimise their overall cost of delivery in order to attract as well as retain customers for
long period of time as well as they must also spend more on research and development
because that maximise their business operations successfully.
 Threat of substitutes: In case of Tuffnells, threat of substitutes is moderate but in order
to minimise or finish respective threat respective company need to adopt new strategies
which help in improving their services related to delivering of products. Moreover
respective company management also need to understand core need and requirement of
customers because that will help them in developing strategies in successful manner.
By conducting situational analysis through different models i.e. SWOT, PESTEL and
Porter's fiver forces there are various issues identifies, from which some are mentioned below:-
 High delivery cost: Tuffnells provide services of delivering parcels at the worldwide
level and there are various strict regulations developed by government and which are
essential for firm to adopt it. Along with this, due to that law company also need to pay
high delivery cost which affects their budget. This is issues for firm because it impact on
their budget and expenses.
 Legal laws: There are numbers of legal laws developed by government in order to
protect companies and society as well as it is essential for respective company to follow
those laws (Rajala, 2019). But this is issues for respective company because their need to
change strategies according to change in laws which is time taking. This is mainly issues
for this firm because their business operations get impacted.
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Options
There are several models or theories which are adopted by Tuffnells in order to overcome
issues related to delivering of packages in effective and appropriate manner. Some of the main
models are given below:-
Option 1:- Cost benefits model
According to this, Tuffnells may adopt different stages of cost benefit model because
through it they can develop effective strategies for overcoming issues related to delivery cost and
time as well as implementation of legal practices (SHUKLA, 2019). Explanations of all stages in
respect of respective company are given below:-
 Define framework for analysis: At this stage Tuffnells management will conduct
analysis of framework which they can adopt in order to resolve issues related to
delivering of products.
 Identify and classify cost and its benefits: After deciding strategy or framework
respective company will determine direct and indirect cost required for the
implementation of strategies in effective manner.
 Develop timeline for expected cost: In the decision making process time is most
essential aspect. So at this phase respective company management need to determine time
in order to conduct plan according to decided cost.
 Monetize cost and benefits: At this stage it is essential for Tuffnells to ensure all costs
as well as benefits are in same monetary unit. For this they will conduct proper evaluation
and monetizing activities.
 Discount cost and benefits to obtain present values: At respective phase respective
company management will convert future costs and benefits into the present value. It is
also known as discounting the cash flow (Ssegawa, 2019).
 Calculate net present value: At this this stage Tuffnells management will subtract cost
from the benefits. In this it is essential for firm to consider this investment proposition
because it help in attaining desire goal.
Option 2:- Porter's generic model
 Cost leadership Strategy: According to this strategy Tuffnells will set their services cost
in two manner i.e. respective company can increase its profitability by minimising costs
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through charging average price of industry. Moreover, they can also enhance their market
shares by asking lower price of their delivery services related to all types of packages.
 Differentiation Strategy: In respect of this strategy respective company may introduce
some different or innovative strategy or plan for gaining advantages at the competitive
marketplace (Taylor, 2019). In respect of this firm may adopt new tracking system which
is user friendly.
 Focus Strategy: Through this strategy Tuffnells able to focus on the small market as well
as according to that respective company can either adopt cost focus strategy or
differentiation focus strategy. But both strategies are implemented for the narrow
marketplace.
According to analysis of both models Tuffnells able to determine strategies through
which they can resolve issues related to the delivery of parcels at the different locations.
Respective company may adopt different strategies from the different options, which are
mentioned below:-
Option 1:- Cost benefits model because through it they can determine cost incurred in the
strategy implementation process.
Option 2:- From Porter's generic model they can adopt differentiation strategy according to
which they can introduce new service as well as tracking system that must be customers friendly.
In order to conduct implement these option 2 strategy which is implementation of
differentiation strategy in effective manner Tuffnells need to conduct some practices, which are
mentioned below:-
Risk assessment
In respect of this factor it is essential for Tuffnells company to conduct risk assessment so
that they can understand risk or issues which may occur while implementing strategies of
delivering of parcels in effective and successful manner (Wagner and et. al., 2019). Through this
respective company able to develop proper strategies and action plan according to the
requirement of company as well as in respect to overcome issues this may arise while
implementing strategies at the workplace.
Stakeholder analysis
Stakeholder analysis is considered as process of assessing potential change according to
the relevant parties. Informations collected by this can be used in order to assess how interests of
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different stakeholders can be addressed in project plan, programmes, policies and several other
actions. There are numbers of stakeholders who are connected towards a business such as
customers, government, media, employees, investors, communities, suppliers or vendors and
many more. In respect of Tuffnells, their stakeholders are customers, suppliers or deliver,
government, clients, investors and so on. In respect to understand effectiveness of stakeholders in
order to implement strategies for resolving issues of delivering package, its management can
conduct stakeholder analysis which is mentioned below:-
 High power, highly interested people: These people manage project activities closely
because they have high power and highly interest. These are generally stakeholder like
owner, general manager, shareholders, directors and so on.
 High power, less interested people: These individuals keep satisfied the business
activities (Taylor, 2019). According to this aspect these stakeholder have low interest in
business activities or project but they have high interest. In respect of respective company
these stakeholder are customers, government, investors and other of the parcel industry.
 Low power, highly interested people: It refers to that stakeholder who keeps Informed
about the business strategies, decisions and projects. In respect of Tuffnells stakeholder
who have low power and high interest are suppliers, delivers, employees and so on.
 Low power, less interested people: It indicates those stakeholders who monitor
activities which are conducted at the workplace. In respect of Tuffnells these stakeholder
are guard, receptionist, cleaner and so on.
Specific Project and Detailed Plan of Action
Aim and Objective
 To hire new delivers and adopt new technology within 6 months in order to improve
Tuffnells's delivery system by 20% more.
Financial requirement
In order to conduct or implement strategies or plan in effective manner for attaining
desire goal Tuffnells’s need to arrange funding of £ 6097.
Detailed Plan of Action
 Work breakdown structure: It is considered as systematic system and management
engineering, according to which researcher or project manager will break whole project
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task into small components. Work breakdown structure is determined as key project
deliverable through which project manager can organize team work into effective manner
(Suresh, Renukappa and Shetty, 2019). In respect of Tuffnells, they want to hire more
delivers and implement new delivery strategy or system because through that they able to
resolve issues related to the delay and ineffective delivery of parcels. This will also help
respective company in determining which different practices through which they can
attain their desire goal successful. In respect of Tuffnells work breakdown structure for
attaining its predetermined goal are given below:-
For hiring delivers
◦ Determining requirement of delivers: According to this respective company need
to conduct analysis so that they can determine requirement and need to more delivers.
This is so because that will help in estimating numbers of more employees required
for delivering parcels on time at the different locations.
◦ Conduct advertisement of vacancy: In this stage company management will
conduct advertisement of their requirement because through that they can attract huge
numbers of appropriate candidates.
◦ Organized interview: In respect of respective phase Tuffnells management will
conduct planning of interview session as well as in this they also decide whether to
conduct written, oral, group or individual interview (Khan, 2019). At this stage
management able to determine best delivers for the vacant position.
◦ Orientation programmes: In this stage, respective company management will
organise orientation programmes with new employees so that they can know about
company's rules and their responsibilities. This will help them in performing their
task in effective as well as successful manner.
◦ Conduct training and development session: At this phase management of Tuffnells
will design training and development session for employees so that they can
understand their work. This will also help them in avoiding issues and errors while
delivering parcels to customers.
◦ Allot work according to skills: In this section management of respective company
will allot work to new employees according to their skills so that they can perform
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their activities in effective as well as successful manner (Ogrezeanu and Scarlat,
2019).
For implementing new system
◦ Identify requirement of new system: In this section of work breakdown system,
Tuffnells management will conduct analysis of requirement of new parcel tracking
system. This will help them in developing proper strategies for attaining desire goal
as well as objectives.
◦ Design system accordingly: In this phase company management hire designer who
will design new and innovative tracking system which help them in conducting their
task properly. In this designer will understand requirement of company and design
system accordingly.
◦ Implement for testing: In this section of respective system company will implement
the new as well as innovative system for the testing purpose (HOE and et. al., 2019).
Moreover at this stage they can also determine issues in new tracking system as well
as management also able to resolve that issues on time.
◦ Conduct employees training session: In this section company management will
conduct training session for all employees so that they can understand how to use new
system in appropriate manner. This will also help them in improving their work
performance.
◦ Implement and monitor: At this phase Tuffnells management will implement the
new system and conduct monitoring of that in order to ensure that all the activities are
performed properly.
 Gantt Chart: This is developed by Henry Gantt around the year 1910 to 1915. It is
considered as bar chart which illustrate about project schedule as well as it also showcase
dependency relationship among the activities as well as current status of schedule.
Through this project manager also able to know time for accomplishing whole project in
effective manner (Jones and et. al., 2019). In respect of Tuffnells, they want to hire more
delivers and implement new system so that they can avoid or overcome issues related to
the delivery system. For this they develop Gantt chart because it provide guideline for
employee that how much time they have for accomplishing a particular work in effective
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